Vatican indicts 10 people for embezzlement, extortion, fraud

Influential cardinal and nine others to face trial in connection with 350m euro investment in London property venture.

A Vatican judge has indicted 10 people, including a once-powerful cardinal, on charges including embezzlement, abuse of office, extortion and fraud in connection with a 350 million-euro ($415m) investment in a London real estate venture. The president of the Vatican’s criminal tribunal, Giuseppe Pignatone, set July 27 as the trial date, according to a Vatican press statement issued on Saturday. The indictments were handed down following a sprawling, two-year investigation into how the Secretariat of State managed its vast asset portfolio, much of which is funded by the Peter’s Pence donations from the faithful.