Pope to Issue New Bank Norms Amid Laundering Probe

The rules are expected to create a compliance authority to oversee all Vatican finances, as required by EU and other international organizations involved in the fight against money laundering and terror financing.

Vatican officials confirmed Wednesday that Pope Benedict XVI's executive order — called a "motu proprio" — making the rules into law, would be released Thursday.

The Vatican has maintained it has been working for over a year to come into compliance with such international norms, but the effort went into high gear following the money laundering probe, which embarrassed the Vatican and its bank chairman, economist Ettore Gotti Tedeschi.

Rome prosecutors on Sept. 21 seized 23 million euros and placed Gotti Tedeschi and his deputy under investigation, alleging the bank broke the law by trying to transfer money without identifying the sender or recipient. The two men have not been charged.

The Vatican has insisted the probe resulted from a "misunderstanding" that it hoped to clarify quickly. But twice Rome courts have refused to release the money, with a judge earlier this month saying nothing had changed in the way the Vatican guards the identity of its clients.