Glenn Beck: "We Are All Catholics Now"

[Alan]

[Alan]

JPMORGAN CHASE CLOSES VATICAN BANK ACCOUNT

JPMorgan Chase is shutting down the Vatican’s bank account with its Milan branch due to a “lack of transparency,” according to Reuters.

“The Vatican bank, also known as the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), is having its account phased out and closed by March 30,” Business Insider’s Julia La Roche reports, “because it apparently ‘failed to provide sufficient information on money transfers.’”

Needless to say, this is a setback for the Holy See as it attempts to qualify for Europe’s “white list” of financial institutions that meet all international regulatory standards on money-laundering and tax fraud.

“Italy’s leading financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore reported at the weekend that JP Morgan Chase in Milan had told the IOR of the closing of its account in a letter on Feb. 15,” Philip Pullella and Lisa Jucca of Reuters report. “The letter said the IOR‘s account in Italy’s business capital would gradually be phased out starting on March 16 and closed on March 30.”

Two things should be noted: first, this isn’t the first time the Vatican has been suspected of engaging in financial fraud. Second, something should be said about the timing of the bank’s decision.

As to the first point: The Vatican’s finances have been under scrutiny for some time. Regulators are investigating €1.5 billion that passed through the Vatican’s Milan account. Investigators refer to this account as a “sweeping facility,” which means the account was emptied at the end of each day for an 18-months period and all funds were transferred to another IOR account in Germany, according to Il Sole 24 Ore.