The Vatican has convicted a cardinal for the first time: Angelo Beccia was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison

At the Vatican Tribunal, a process that lasted two and a half years has come to an end.

A case was being considered regarding the abusive acquisition of real estate for the Holy See in the British capital.

There were 10 people involved in the case, including Cardinal Angelo Beccia.

The latter was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison. This is reported with reference to one of the Italian news agencies.

Case details

It turned out that a mansion had been purchased in the capital of Great Britain. And at a obviously high cost. This was done through donations.

Then the building was sold, but at a much lower price. As a result, the Vatican lost a lot of money.

Vatican financial audit authorities became suspicious. As a result, an investigation began.

The process was recently completed. The tribunal sentenced Cardinal Becciu, who was accused of fraud and money laundering, to 5.5 years in prison, although the prosecution demanded more than seven years.

The defense spoke about plans to appeal.

It is worth emphasizing that previously there were no cases of sentencing of cardinals in the dwarf state.

Earlier, Pope Francis spoke about health problems.