Vatican’s former audit chief launches €9.3mn legal case over dismissal
The Vatican’s former chief auditor and his deputy, who were dismissed in 2017 after trying to investigate the Catholic church’s “off the books” Swiss bank accounts, have launched a €9.3mn legal action against the Holy See.
Libero Milone and his number two Ferruccio Panicco are claiming damages for lost earnings, emotional distress and loss of reputation over how they were forced from their jobs after being accused of misconduct. They were later publicly accused by then-powerful Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu of spying on the private lives of their Holy See superiors, including Becciu himself.
Milone, a former head of Deloitte Italy, had been picked in 2015 to establish an auditor-general’s office for the Holy See, as Pope Francis sought to clean up the church’s financial affairs, including management of millions of euros in charitable contributions from Catholic faithful around the world.
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Amy Kazmin
