Becciu’s Brother Accused of Embezzling Donations
The Becciu brother and others are expected to be charged, including Antonio Becciu's wife and the local director of Caritas, Don Mario Curzu, and even Monsignor Corrado Melis, the Bishop of Ozieri.
Prosecutors allege that the group embezzled more than 2 million euros between 2013 and 2023.
According to prosecutors, funds from Italy's 8xmille tax, which passed through the Italian Bishops' Conference, were channelled into charitable accounts controlled by Antonio Becciu and Don Curzu. The money was used to finance private interests and business ventures.
The police found "forged delivery notes" at the brother's charity for allegedly 20 tonnes of bread to be distributed to "the poor".
Cardinal Becciu said during his own trial that he had authorised an initial €100,000 loan to his brother's charity, which was later converted into a €50,000 donation from the Italian Bishops' Conference.
Canon law, which today is only applied when it suits those in power, prohibits the transfer of church property to relatives. Lawyers for Becciu and Curzu said they would mount a vigorous defence.
FaroDiRoma.it (13 March) insists that "everything is in order" and that the proper management of funds by the Ozieri diocese was amply documented in the Vatican trial of Cardinal Becciu.
Experience shows that such trials in Italy end with a loud conviction, only to be overturned years later by the Court of Appeal.
Picture: Angelo Becciu © Mazur, CC BY-NC-ND, #newsCegoyfuenx