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WORLD NEWS Friday 25 September 2020

Powerful Vatican Cardinal Becciu resigns amid scandal

ROME (AP) — The powerful run by an Italian business-
head of the Vatican's saint- man. The deal gave the
making office, Cardinal Holy See 45% of the luxury
Angelo Becciu, resigned building at 60 Sloane Ave.
suddenly Thursday from the in London's Chelsea neigh-
post and renounced his borhood.
rights as a cardinal amid a The money came from the
financial scandal that has secretariat of state's asset
reportedly implicated him portfolio, which is funded
indirectly. in large part by the Peter's
The Vatican provided no Pence donations of Catho-
details on why Pope Fran- lics around the world for
cis accepted Becciu's res- the pope to use for charity
ignation in a statement and Vatican expenses.
late Thursday. In the one- The Holy See decided in
sentence announcement, November 2018, after Bec-
the Holy See said only that ciu had left the secretariat
Francis had accepted Bec- of state, to exit the fund,
ciu's resignation as prefect end its relationship with
of the Congregation for the businessman and buy
the Causes of Saints "and out the remainder of the
his rights connected to the building. It did so after Bec-
cardinalate." ciu's successor determined
Becciu, the former No. 2 in In this Feb. 9, 2017 file photo, Mons. Giovanni Angelo Becciu presides over an eucharistic liturgy, that the mortgage was too
the Vatican's secretariat of at the St. John in Latheran Basilica, in Rome. onerous and that the busi-
state, has been reportedly Associated Press nessman was losing money
implicated in a financial for the Vatican in some
scandal involving the Vati- ed downfall of one of the cardinal after unidentified has relinquished his rights to of the fund's other invest-
can's investment in a Lon- most powerful Vatican offi- priests alleged sexual mis- take part. ments.
don real estate deal that cials all suggested a shock- conduct. O'Brien was, how- Becciu was the "substitute," The buyout deal, however,
has lost the Holy See mil- ing new chapter in Francis' ever, allowed to retain the or top deputy in the sec- cost the Vatican tens of
lions of euros in fees paid to already tumultuous seven- cardinal's title and he died retariat of state from 2011- millions of euros more and
middlemen. year pontificate. a member of the College 2018, when Francis made sparked the Vatican inves-
The Vatican prosecutor has The last time a cardinal's of Cardinals, the elite group him a cardinal and moved tigation that has so far im-
placed several Vatican of- rights were removed was of churchmen whose main him into the Vatican's saint- plicated a half-dozen Vati-
ficials under investigation, when American Theodore job is to elect a pope. making office. He strad- can employees.
as well as the middlemen, McCarrick renounced his In the Vatican statement, dled two pontificates, hav- Becciu has insisted he
but not Becciu. Becciu has rights and privileges as a the Holy See identified Bec- ing been named by Pope wasn't in power during the
denied all wrongdoing and cardinal in July 2018 amid ciu as "His Eminence Cardi- Benedict XVI and entrusted 2018 buyout deal and al-
it's not clear whether the a sexual abuse investiga- nal Angelo Becciu," making with essentially running the ways acted in the sole in-
scandal, which has con- tion. He was subsequently clear he remained a cardi- Curia, or Vatican bureau- terests of the Holy See. In
vulsed the Vatican for a defrocked altogether by nal but without any rights. cracy, a position that gave the Vatican prosecutor's
year, is behind his resigna- Francis last year for sexually At 72, Becciu would have him enormous influence initial warrant, Becciu is
tion. abusing adults as well as been able to participate in and power. not named, and it remains
But the late-breaking news minors. a possible future conclave The financial problems unclear if his role in man-
of his resignation, the sever- Before him, the late Scot- to elect Francis' successor. date from 2014, when the aging the secretariat of
ity of his apparent sanction, tish Cardinal Keith O'Brien in Cardinals over age 80 can't Vatican entered into a real state's vast asset portfolio
the Vatican's tight-lipped 2015 relinquished the rights vote. But by renouncing his estate venture by investing was connected with the
release and the unexpect- and privileges of being a rights as a cardinal, Becciu over $200 million in a fund resignation.q

Kremlin critic Navalny's apartment seized, his aide says

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authori- apartment a week after he fell ill leging he funded internet trolls in- company, promising to "ruin" the
ties seized Alexei Navalny's Mos- on Aug. 27, Yarmysh said in a vid- volved in interfering with the U.S. politician if he survived.
cow apartment while the opposi- eo statement released Thursday. presidential election in 2016. Navalny has remained in Berlin to
tion leader was still in a coma, Na- "It means the apartment can't be Last year, a Moscow court ordered undergo rehabilitation after being
valny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh sold, gifted, or mortgaged. That's Navalny and his associates to pay released from hospital, but his allies
said Thursday and linked the move when Alexei's bank accounts were 88 million rubles ($1.1 million) in said he planned to return to Russia.
to a tycoon with ties to the Kremlin. frozen, too," Navalny's spokeswom- damages to a company report- Navalny's team blamed the Krem-
Navalny, the most prominent critic an said. edly linked to Prigozhin after they lin for the poisoning, claims which
of Russian President Vladimir Putin, According to Yarmysh, the seizure accused the company — and him officials brushed off.
was discharged this week from a was connected to a court ruling — of allegedly supplying contami- Authorities bristled at demands to
Berlin hospital where he was treat- in favor of a school catering com- nated food to Moscow kindergar- launch a criminal investigation,
ed for what German authorities pany reportedly linked to Yevgeny tens and sparking an outbreak of blaming Germany for not sharing
determined was nerve agent poi- Prigozhin, a tycoon with ties to Rus- dysentery among dozens of chil- findings and medical data with
soning. sia's president that earned him the dren. Russian law enforcement. Germa-
The 44-year-old collapsed on a do- nickname "Putin's chef." Prigozhin's spokespeople denied ny has noted that Russian doctors
mestic flight in Russia on Aug. 20 Prigozhin was among a dozen he had anything to do with the have their own samples from Na-
and spent nearly three weeks in a Russians indicted in 2018 by a U.S. company. Days after Navalny fell valny since he was in their care for
coma. Russian bailiffs announced grand jury in the investigation by into a coma, Prigozhin announced 48 hours before being transferred
seizing his share in a Moscow special counsel Robert Mueller, al- he had bought the debt from the to Berlin for treatment.q