- IBAC has said it will not investigate allegations that Vatican funds were used in an attempt to secure child sex abuse charges against Cardinal George Pell
- Earlier this year, a number of Italian newspapers published stories alleging that a rival of Pell’s had transferred €700,000 (approximately A$1.1 million) to support the prosecution of the charges
- IBAC released a statement on Wednesday saying that “the threshold to commence inquiries or an investigation was not met”
- The transfers are thought to be linked to a long-standing dispute between Pell and former cardinal Giovanni Becciu
- Pell’s June 2017 convictions were overturned by the high court of Australia, and he has since returned to the Vatican
The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) has said it will not investigate allegations that Vatican funds were used to secure child sex abuse charges against Cardinal George Pell.
In October, Italian newspapers La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera published a number of stories suggesting that a rival of Pell’s had arranged for €700,000 (approximately A$1.1 million) to be transferred to people in Australia to support the prosecution of the charges.
IBAC issued a brief statement on Wednesday afternoon acknowledging it had received information based on the media reports but said that there was not enough merit to warrant a full investigation.
“IBAC has reviewed the information and found the threshold to commence inquiries or an investigation was not met. This matter would only be further considered if any additional, credible information is received relevant to IBAC’s jurisdiction,” the statement said.
The allegations had originally been submitted to AUSTRAC, Australia’s financial crimes watchdog, which in turn referred them to the Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police.
Victoria Police said last month that it would not pursue the matter any further, while the AFP passed it on to IBAC.
According to the Italian media reports, the supposed transfers are alleged to be linked to a long-standing dispute between Pell and former cardinal Giovanni Becciu, who is thought to opposed to Pell’s plans to reform the Vatican’s finances.
During a press conference in Rome, Becciu firmly denied the claims, which were made following his resignation from the Vatican amid other allegations of misappropriating millions of dollars in church finances – which he also denies.
“They accuse me of embezzlement and of favouring [my] brothers, surreal. I have not enriched my family. I hope the pope realises that it is all a misunderstanding,” he said.
Pell was charged by Victorian police in June 2017 with child sexual offences, for which he was later convicted. However, the high court of Australia overturned the convictions in April this year, and Pell has since returned to the Vatican.