The latest financial row has shaken the Vatican to the core as it’s worth 1.8 billion dollars.
Allegedly, the amount was transferred from the Vatican to Australia in the last seven years.
However, the Australian bishops did not receive the money.
The transaction reportedly took place between the Vatican and the government of Australia.
Canberra says it has not received the money.
The shocking revelation has been made by Australia’s own financial watchdog Austrac.
The report says that 1.8 billion US dollars were indeed sent from Rome to Canberra in the last seven years.
Out of this amount, 71.6 million dollars were allegedly sent in 2017, 137.1 million dollars in 2015, 295 million in 2016, 581 million dollars in 2017, 422 million dollars in 2018, 491.8 million dollars in 2019, and 294.8 million dollars in 2020.
All these transactions are undocumented and the reasons are unexplained. The identity of the recipients is yet to be disclosed.
The bishops in Australia claim they never received a single cent and Vatican officials are stunned too, saying the transaction looks like ‘science fiction’ and the Vatican does not have that kind of money.
According to Vatican’s data, only 980,000 dollars have been sent to Australia since 2014 mostly for payment of salaries to bishops, expenses at the Vatican embassy, pension and travel costs.
This figure is nowhere close to the amount revealed by the Australian watchdog.
Austrac vows to release further details in the days to come, but the bishops in Australia are getting restless.
The controversy is set to explode and the pope’s image and reputation are at stake.