Vatican Discloses Property Portfolio For First Time Ahead Of Fraud Trial

The 2020 budget showed that the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See owns 4,051 properties in Italy and some 1,120 properties in London, Paris, Geneva and Lausanne.

The Vatican published for the first time Saturday its annual budget for a key department managing property and investments, just days before the start of a high-profile trial over a London investment. The 2020 budget showed that the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See (APSA) owns 4,051 properties in Italy and some 1,120 properties in London, Paris, Geneva and Lausanne. One of those, a former Harrods warehouse in London intended for conversion into luxury apartments, is at the heart of a trial opening in the Vatican next week over alleged embezzlement of charity money. The purchase by the Vatican's Secretariat of State nearly a decade ago led to huge losses. Pope Francis handed control of the Secretariat's investments to APSA last year after the case came to light.