Financier of London restaurants jailed after Italian fraud trial
The financier behind a collapsed chain of London seafood restaurants has been sentenced to six years in prison in an Italian fraud trial that has rocked the Vatican.
Gianluigi Torzi, the man responsible for the Seasons chain of fish restaurants, was sentenced alongside Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the most senior Catholic Church official ever to stand trial before a Vatican criminal court. Becciu was jailed for five and a half years.
In all, 10 defendants were accused of crimes including fraud, abuse of office and money laundering.
The so-called “trial of the century” in Italy centred around the purchase of 60 Sloane Avenue in London by the Vatican’s administrative and diplomatic department.
Becciu, then an archbishop, held the number two position there in 2013 when it began investing in a fund managed by Italian financier Raffaele Mincione, securing about 45 per cent of 60 Sloane Avenue. Mincione was found guilty of embezzlement and money laundering and given the same sentence as Becciu.
Torzi was found guilty of fraud and extortion related to brokers’ fees on the deal, which ended with the Vatican losing around $140m.
The trial, which exposed infighting and intrigue at the highest echelons of the Vatican, lasted for 86 sessions over two-and-a-half years.
Enrico Crasso, a banker who managed funds for the Secretariat of State, was convicted of money laundering and sentenced to seven years. Fabrizio Tirabassi, who worked in the Secretariat, was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years.
Torzi does not appear in any official documents relating to the Seasons restaurant chain, but company sources told City PM he was the force behind the business.
Staff and suppliers say they were left up to £600,000 out of pocket when the chain hit the rocks. CCTV footage obtained by City PM shows delivery men stacking rotten fish outside the restaurant in protest.