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The amount reportedly transferred far exceeds the Holy See s budget
7 January 2021 • 6:04pm
The Vatican has questioned a report by Australia s financial watchdog that the Holy See made 47,000 transfers to Australia over six years
Credit: AP
Australia s financial watchdog may have bungled its claim that the Vatican made mysterious transfers totalling £1.3bn to the country, announcing yesterday that it was “reviewing its calculations” after the Holy See said it was “stunned” by the report.
The agency, Austrac, said it is working alongside the Vatican’s financial watchdog to recalculate its data after the Vatican and Australian bishops questioned its December report that 47,000 transfers were made from Rome to Australia over six years ranging from £40.7m in 2014 to £332.7m in 2017.
The Australian government’s financial intelligence agency said it is reviewing its data after questions were raised about its report that €1.5bn was transferred from the Vatican to Australia over six years.
The agency, Austrac, said it was working with the Vatican to get to the bottom of the matter.
The Vatican confirmed it was in contact with Austrac regarding “an examination of the data that it (Austrac) provided in recent days”.
Austrac listed the annual transactions since 2014 in response to a parliamentary inquiry without providing any details about senders or recipients.
The agency monitors financial transactions to identify money laundering, organised crime, tax evasion, welfare fraud as well as terrorism financing.