The Vatican’s Real Estate Scandal

Pope Francis has fired five employees who were under investigation for their involvement in the $200 million purchase of minority stake in a luxury apartment development in London’s upscale Chelsea neighborhood. After the Vatican’s Secretariat of State lost money on the investment, the Vatican’s middleman, Italian businessman Raffaele Mincione, advised the Vatican to buy the remainder of the property, which he owned. The Vatican’s judicial system is now investigating staffers who were involved in the deal for possible financial improprieties. Vatican police raided several offices in the Secretariat of State and the Vatican’s financial watchdog office and suspended the staff members.