Pope Francis battled centuries of corruption in $6 billion Vatican Bank plagued by mafia ties, bad bets, and hidden secrets
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The Vatican Bank had been linked to Mafia money, shady investments, and hidden corruption for decades. But Pope Francis has made reform a mission.From closing shady accounts to appointing outsiders, he fought to shed light on a highly secretive system.Hounded for decades by Mafia affiliations and corruption, the bank was transformed radically under his leadership, with regime shake-ups in leadership, intensified supervision, and greater transparency, which remapped its future.Pope Francis passed away on Monday, leaving behind a reform legacy at the $6 billion Vatican Bank. Despite being labeled an anti-capitalist by some, Pope Francis's reform of the scandal-plagued $6 billion Vatican Bank was one of his major financial achievements.The Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), also referred to as the Vatican Bank, was established in 1942 with the intention of overseeing funds for clergy and church organizations worldwide.However, it was allegedly beset by corruption, money laundering, and even Mafia ties for many years. As of 2023, the Vatican Bank held 5.4 billion euros, or $6.1 billion, as per reports by Fortune.However, during Francis' pontificate, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who was born in Argentina, pushed for reforms at the bank that helped eradicate corruption and increase the organization's internal operations' transparency.In order to strengthen regulatory oversight, the bank increased transparency and centralized financial management under Pope Francis.In 2013, the Vatican Bank started publishing annual reports for the first time, detailing its profit, operating expenses, and charitable contributions, among other things, thanks to efforts started under Francis's predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, as per Fortune.Francis reorganized the bank's management in 2014, reducing the influence of clergy in financial matters and appointing French financier Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, formerly CEO of Invesco Europe, to lead the Vatican Bank. Since 2014, the 61-year-old de Franssu has presided over the Vatican Bank.During his tenure, Pope Francis also worked to improve the bank's transparency by enforcing stricter external oversight and adhering to financial regulations.In order to comply with international financial standards, the bank closed thousands of accounts in 2014.Francis also directed all Vatican departments to transfer their funds to the Vatican Bank and close their investment accounts as part of his tighter control over the Holy See.Pope Francis helped strengthen financial regulators' oversight of the Vatican's holdings and deprived non-expert clergy of their financial power by centralizing the organization's finances.A number of scandals, including the failure of Banco Ambrosiano, the biggest bank in Italy, in which the Vatican Bank had a financial stake, prompted Pope Francis to make changes at the Vatican, as per reports by Fortune.He centralized control, replaced leadership, closed shady accounts, and advocated for complete financial transparency.Past scandals have included Mafia-linked advisors, illegal deals, and even the death of a banker under suspicious circumstances.
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