Pope defends raid on financial unit despite criticism

Pope Francis is defending a raid on the Vatican’s financial watchdog agency, saying it showed the Vatican’s in-house system of checks was working.

Francis said Tuesday he authorized the Oct. 1 raid after the Vatican criminal prosecutor came to him with evidence of corruption involving a Holy See investment in a London real-estate venture.

But the raid on the Financial Information Authority, or AIF, and sequester of documents, computers and cellphones prompted the Egmont Group of financial intelligence units to suspend the Vatican from its secure communications network.

That means the Holy See is once again a financial pariah, outside the elite club of countries that exchange financial data in the fight against money laundering, tax evasion and other financial crimes.