02-05-2025
Vatican pays millions in legal costs to British banker caught up in ‘trial of the century'
It was the first time the Vatican had faced trial in the English courts in its 2,000-year history.
The Holy See had claimed Mr Mincione committed fraud by inflating the price when his companies sold the former Harrods property to the Vatican in 2018 to convert into luxury apartments.
The financier and his legal team claimed he was the victim of a 'witch hunt' where the legal goalposts were moved to secure his conviction in a trial in Italy.
After ruling in his favour, the UK court has now ordered the Vatican to make an immediate payment to Mr Mincione of £1.5m 'within weeks', with further payments to be made following detailed assessment.
Mr Mincione said: 'I am proud as a British citizen that these matters have finally been examined by a truly independent judicial system which has exonerated me of dishonesty, fraud or conspiracy.
'I am grateful that the English judge has awarded us millions of pounds in legal costs, reflecting the true winners and losers of this sorry case.
'For the first time, I am also pleased to share the opinion of the Vatican City State's chief prosecutor Alessandro Diddi when he previously said he was satisfied by the findings in this case.
'The Vatican trial was originally an attempt to deflect attention from its own incompetence, but it quickly became a witch-hunt. I am still a Catholic and I believe that my Church should be and can be better than this.'
In his judgment on the case, Mr Justice Robin Knowles granted 29 of the 31 declarations sought by Mr Mincione in his legal action against the Vatican.
It accepted independent expert evidence that the value of £275 million for the Harrods warehouse was a supportable market value for the property before the transaction in 2018.
However, the judge criticised Mr Mincione for failing to act in good faith in their communications with the Vatican, saying he had not been frank about the £275 million valuation and 'was misleading by reference to the sources available to him and in context'.
The Vatican, a Catholic enclave in the centre of Rome, often avoids legal action in foreign jurisdictions by claiming sovereign immunity.
The defence of sovereign immunity was not, however, available to the Vatican in the case of 60 Sloane Avenue, the central London property at the centre of the dispute, because the dispute relates to a commercial transaction.
During the trial in the Vatican, it emerged the late Pope Francis had authorised secret wiretaps, including of a cardinal, during the investigation. The extraordinary powers allowed investigators to bug phones, intercept emails and arrest anyone they wanted without seeking prior approval from a judge.
