on 22 out of 45 guidelines and adhered to international standards in 9 out of the 16 core
points.[71]
Moneyval stated that the Vatican "has come a long way in a very short period of time"
and stated that the city state met the international requirements in 9 out of 16 core topics.
At the same time, Moneyval requested further reforms to be enacted [70][71] The Vatican
expressed a goal to get into the so-called OECD white list which includes countries that
comply with international anti-money laundering standards and regulations against tax
offences.[72]
In November 2012, a Swiss anti-money laundering expert, René Brülhart, was appointed
director of the AIF. Previously, he had worked for the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in
Liechtenstein as well as for the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units. [73]
Reform steps 2013
[edit]
On 15 February 2013, Ernst von Freyberg was appointed the IOR's President. Since the
beginning of his tenure at the IOR, von Freyberg has focused on comprehensively
reforming the Institute, stating he would[74] focus on transparency[75] and a "zero tolerance"
approach to any suspicious transactions.[75][76]
In May 2013, the international consulting and auditing firm Promontory was assigned a
forensic review and screening of the Institute's client relationships. In this context, all
accounts of the IOR's 19,000 customers were being checked if they meet the respective
criteria.[77]
On 24 June 2013, Pope Francis created a Pontifical Commission, often referred to as the
CRIOR commission, to review the IOR's status and activities. [78] Its task was to "gather
accurate information on the legal status and various activities of the Institute to permit,
when necessary, a better harmonization of the said Institute with the universal mission of
the Apostolic See". Its five members were Raffaele Farina (President) Jean-Louis Pierre
Tauran, Juan Ignacio Arrieta Ochoa de Chinchetru, Peter Bryan Wells (secretary)
and Mary Ann Glendon.[79] The commission terminated its work in May 2014.[80]
In July 2013, the Holy See's Financial Intelligence Authority (AIF), charged with
monitoring the monetary and commercial activities of Vatican agencies, was admitted as
a full member of the Egmont Group, an international network of financial
intelligence units.[81][82]
On 1 October 2013, the IOR published its first ever annual report. [83] The annual report is
available for download on the Institute's homepage which was launched in July
2013.[84] The report's figures were audited by the global accounting firm
KPMG.[85] According to the report, the Institute in 2012 had a net profit of €86.6 million, of
which it has transferred €54.7 million to the budget of the Holy See to help the pope carry
out the church's global mission. Both measures – the annual report's publication and the
launch of the website – were reviewed as remarkable signs of enhanced transparency
and compliance: The Guardian called the website launch a "giant leap" [84] and Reuters
named it a "transparency drive".[86] On 12 June 2017 IOR published its fifth annual report,
showing net gains of €36 million for the year 2016.[87]
Also in October 2013, newspapers reported that the IOR had requested around 1,300
customers to close their IOR accounts. Allegedly, this request was directed at lay account
holders, who do not fit into any of the five categories of clients the IOR is legally allowed
to have.[88] The closures are said to be a result of the review process conducted by
Promontory.[89]
On 12 December 2013, Moneyval published its Progress Report that assessed the Holy
See's progress made on measures to combat money laundering. [90] It was stated that the
IOR has made significant progress but at the same time needed more institutionalized
internal controls, especially with regard to the AIF's watchdog function. [91] Overall, the
report was rated as the approval of the economic and financial reforms enacted since
Pope Francis' taking office.[92]
Reform steps 2014
[edit]
On 22 January 2014, the IOR published a report on the progress of the compliance and
transparency program.[93] IOR President Ernst von Freyberg commented on the release,
stating that "it is very possible to reform an institution like the IOR" and that the Institute
has "used the past year to create the system and to analyse our customers for possible
irregularities". Von Freyberg also stated much work needs to be done as regards
transparency and compliance.[94]
On 7 April 2014, Pope Francis ruled the IOR will stay operative and approved
recommendations on the Institute's future, which were drawn up jointly by the papal
commissions CRIOR and COSEA, by the IOR's management and by Australian
Cardinal George Pell, head of the Vatican's Secretariat for the Economy. The decision
was interpreted as a "backing" of the process of reform that had been intensified under
Pope Francis and von Freyberg.[95] The IOR itself stated that the Pope's decision
"represents a powerful endorsement of our very mission and the hard work accomplished
over the past 12 months."[96] Von Freyberg stepped down in July as head of the IOR and
Pope Francis named Jean-Baptiste de Franssu to replace him. [97]
In September 2014, the Cardinals' Commission of the IOR appointed Mauricio Larraín
(Chile) and Carlo Salvatori (Italy) as members to the IOR Board of Superintendence.
Other members included Jean-Baptiste de Franssu (France), President of the Board,
Clemens Boersig (Germany), Mary Ann Glendon (USA) and Michael Hintze (UK). In
addition to these six lay members of the Board, Monsignor Alfred Xuereb, Secretary-
General of the Secretariat for the Economy, served as its non-voting Secretary. [98] From
January 2017 additional members added to the board were: Scott C. Malpass
(USA), Javier Marín Romano [es] (Spain), and Georg Freiherr von Boeselager
(Germany).[99]
2023
