Vatican police raid Secretariat of State offices

Vatican police raided the offices of the Holy See’s Secretariat of State and its Financial Information Authority, or AIF, and took away documents and electronic devices as part of an investigation of suspected financial irregularities.

It was believed to be the first time the two departments were searched for evidence involving alleged financial crimes.

The Secretariat of State, the most powerful department in the Vatican, is the nerve centre of its bureaucracy and diplomacy and the administrative heart of the worldwide Catholic Church.

The AIF, headed by Swiss lawyer Rene Bruelhart, is the financial controller, with authority over all Vatican departments.

A senior Vatican source said he believed the operation, which the statement said had been authorized by Vatican prosecutors, had to do with real estate transactions.

Via Reuters/ Vatican News