Questions over the Vatican’s $1.1 million cash transfer to Australia remain unsolved

A stalemate in tracking the money has hindered a probe into whether George Pell’s trial was corrupted.

Cardinal George Pell. Picture: AAP

A Vatican money transfer of $1.1m to Australia is destined to remain unresolved.

A stalemate in tracking the money trail has left the probe into whether Cardinal George Pell’s trial was corrupted at a dead end, with no investigative body prepared to delve into the mystery cash movement.

The Vatican’s financial transfers occurred the same year Cardinal Pell was charged with historical sex crimes.

Federal financial crime watchdog AUSTRAC, which identified the transfer late last year following media reports in Italy, shared its intelligence with three large investigative bodies — the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police and anti-corruption body IBAC.

But none of these bodies has exposed what the money was for or where it ended up.

More recent reports have revealed Vatican transfers of $9.5m to Australia since 2014.

Questions raised with AUSTRAC, Victoria Police and IBAC about the use of the funds have gone unanswered.

The lack of transparency has raised concerns within the Pell camp, which continues to call for a proper investigation into whether funds were funnelled to pay the Cardinal’s accuser, known as Witness J.

Witness J testified that Cardinal Pell sexually assaulted him in 1996 and 1997 at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne.

Victoria Police in October played down the significance of the transfer without giving reason, other than to state AUSTRAC had not advised it of any “suspicious activity related to these transactions’’.

While confirming the payments had been wired from the Vatican over a ‘’period of time’’, Victoria Police was not prepared to investigate further without other evidence or intelligence.

The case was also referred to IBAC, Victoria’s underfunded anti-corruption body, which was stifled by its own charter. It dismissed the probe in November last year, stating that the investigative “threshold’’ had not been met.

IBAC told the Herald Sun it would not take the investigation further.

AUSTRAC has also walked away from the probe.

Cardinal Pell in Rome. Picture: Victor Sokolowicz

Cardinal Pell protested privately before his trial that he believed he had been set up by his enemies within the Vatican, whom he was investigating over financial corruption.

True or not, there has been little transparency in the money transfer.

Liberal MP Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, who has been pursuing the issue in the Senate, said answers needed to be found. “Allegations about transfers of Vatican funds to Australia, including any connection to the Pell matter, are complicated issues involving activities in Australia and the Vatican,” she said.

“Legitimate questions remain unanswered both in Australia and at the Vatican, including from AUSTRAC, the AFP, DFAT and most particularly from Victoria Police, IBAC and judicial authorities.”

Ms Fierravanti-Wells said the allegations were serious and would have significant consequences if true.

The High Court of Australia acquitted Cardinal Pell in April 2020, overturning his 2018 conviction of committing sexual crimes against the two teenagers.

Cardinal Pell has always maintained his innocence.