Victoria Police says it has received information about money transferred from the Vatican to Australia but will not be investigating further as there was no evidence of suspicious activity. Source: ABC News.
Earlier this month, Italian newspapers reported unsubstantiated allegations that Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu was suspected of wiring 700,000 euros ($1.14 million) to Australia in an attempt to secure evidence against Cardinal George Pell in his sexual abuse trial.
On Tuesday, when asked about the reported allegations, AUSTRAC’s chief executive Nicole Rose revealed the agency had provided information to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Victoria Police.
On Saturday, Victoria Police confirmed it had received information from AUSTRAC, but said it was not investigating further.
“[AUSTRAC] have not advised Victoria Police of any suspicious activity related to these transactions,” Victoria Police said in a statement. .
“In the absence of any other evidence or intelligence Victoria Police has noted the advice from AUSTRAC. We are not at this time conducting any further investigation.”
Cardinal Becciu has strongly denied the allegations against him.
The AFP said it was reviewing the intelligence and had referred some information to Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog, the Victorian Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission.
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