London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 24, 2025

Vatican suffers big loss in sale of London building at heart of fraud and embezzlement trial

Vatican suffers big loss in sale of London building at heart of fraud and embezzlement trial

In a statement issued on Friday, the Vatican said the building was sold for £186m to Boston-based private investment firm Bain Capital, but did not provide a definitive figure for the losses it has incurred in the process.

The Vatican has said it has completed the sale of the luxury London building at the centre of an ongoing corruption trial - after taking an estimated hit of around £120m (€140m).

In a statement issued on Friday, the Vatican said the building was sold for £186m to Boston-based private investment firm Bain Capital.

However, the Vatican did not provide a definitive figure for the losses it has incurred in the process.

One person familiar with the various transactions over the years said it amounted to just over £120m (€140m).

The statement said that losses were covered by Vatican reserve funds, and stressed that donations from the faithful in a papal fund known as Peter's Pence had not been used.

The sale of the building, located on Chelsea's Sloane Avenue, marks a turning point in the Vatican's botched investment strategies.

A view of the entrance to 60 Sloane Avenue in London


It comes as a fraud trial reaches its first anniversary later this month, which looks set to drag on for at least another year.

Vatican prosecutors have accused 10 people, including former Vatican official Fabrizio Tirabassi, of fleecing the Holy See of tens of millions of euros, and Italian broker Gianluigi Torzi of having then extorted the Vatican for €15m (£12.8m) to get full ownership of the property. They all deny wrongdoing.

In May, Tirabassi said he was under intense "psychological pressure" to finalise a deal over the Holy See's troubled investment in the London property, but entered into the negotiations without a lawyer and did not realise the deal made the Vatican nothing in return.

Giving evidence for seven hours, he revealed that the Holy See believed it would salvage its investment in the former Harrod's warehouse and stem its losses.

The real estate venture began in 2014, when the Vatican's secretariat of state invested £300m (€350m) with Italian broker Raffaele Mincione.

But an indictment document shows that by 2018, the Vatican thought it was being fleeced by Mincione, and instead turned to another Italian broker, Torzi, to get out of the first deal.

Pope Francis speaking in St Peter's Square in the Vatican


Torzi has been accused by prosecutors of duping the Vatican and trying to take control of the building by assigning himself the voting shares.

The Vatican then gave Torzi £12.9m (€15m) to get out of the deal with him.

Tirabassi was the number two in the secretariat of state's administrative office, which managed £511m (€600m) in assets, including donations from the faithful to Pope Francis for charity.

Starting around 2012, the office decided to diversify its portfolio and put £170m (€200m) in a fund that, among other things, was investing in the London warehouse and developing it into a luxury residential property.

Pope Francis stripped the secretariat of state of control over its own investment funds due to the embarrassing deal, and also instituted a committee to oversee the ethics of its investments.

After coming into effect with the Vatican's new constitution earlier this month, the committee is headed by an Irish-American cardinal but includes four outside lay financial experts from Britain, Germany, Norway, and the US.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
Nurse who raped woman continued working for a year despite police alert
Drought forces closures of England’s canal routes, canceling boat holidays
Sweet tooth scents: food-inspired perfumes surge as weight-loss drugs suppress appetites
Experts warn Britain dangerously reliant on imported food
Family of Notting Hill Carnival murder victim call event unmanageable
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
×