‘Thou shalt not steal.’ This long-standing commandment is merely a meddlesome detail, apparently, as the Vatican and the US government are teaming up to extort Americans of their hard-earned money. The US government and the Vatican make great bedfellows, considering each has a long history of corruption and violence.
As of last week, the Vatican has signed on to FATCA officially, but last December the Holy See came to agreement on most of what would become an Intergovernmental Agreement to hand over American account information.
The Treasury Department has paraded the Vatican deal around, as the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church is a shining example of fiduciary responsibility and morality, considering the Vatican Bank’s corruption in the past.
The Vatican bank has been the one of, if not the most, secretive banks in the world. In 2012 even Italian prosecutors detained the Vatican bank’s former head. This was just one in a line of scandals for the officially called ‘Institute for Works of Religion (IOR).’ Even JP Morgan apparently shut down the account of the Vatican bank due to concerns over transparency.
Pope Francis has said he has had an eye on reforming the Vatican Bank, but the pope likely doesn’t have that much power over the financial institution. FATCA is now in effect and offers an opportunity for the Vatican Bank to make strategic partnerships so that it can continue to operate. After all, most wire transfers go through New York, which means the Vatican, if it did not fall in line with the US government, could see its funds held up or even diverted.
This post was published at Dollar Vigilante on JUNE 15, 2015.
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