CONVICTED. The 75-year-old Cardinal Angelo Becciu (center). The Vatican court found him guilty of mismanaging a property portfolio, including a luxury flat on London's Sloane Avenue. (ANSA)
ROME – A Vatican court has sentenced Cardinal Angelo Becciu, a former adviser to Pope Francis, to five and a half years of imprisonment for mismanaging a property portfolio, including a luxury flat on London’s Sloane Avenue.
Becciu, the highest-ranking Vatican official ever to face financial charges, was convicted on two counts of embezzlement and one of aggravated fraud.
The cardinal, who was also once seen as a papal contender, was acquitted in other counts of embezzlement and abuse of office.
The trial centred on a London property deal that ended in huge losses for the Catholic Church.
The promoter of justice Alessandro Diddi had requested a sentence of seven years three months for the 75-year-old Sardinian and former Substitute for General Affairs in the Secretariat of State.
The court also fined the Italian Cardinal 8,000 euro and banned from public office for life.
Becciu's defence lawyer, Fabio Viglione, said he and his client "respect the sentence, but we will certainly appeal".
Becciu is one of 10 defendants in the case for whom Diddi had collectively requested a total of 73 years' imprisonment. (ANSA)
