Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/887355
maltatoday SUNDAY 15 OCTOBER 2017 12 News MATTHEW VELLA GOD'S bankers have been caught up in a "menacing web of intrigue and suspicious transactions", law- yers for the Vatican's bank are claiming. A €17 million claim for dam- ages filed in the Maltese courts is promising to reveal a ruse by Italian financiers who run Mal- tese investment firms, to hive off millions into a property company owned by offshore firms in Dubai and Panama. The Istituto per le Opere di Re- ligion (IOR), otherwise known as the Vatican Bank, says a com- mittee it set up to invest €30 mil- lion of its cash was misled by the directors of Futura Investment Management – Alberto Matta and Girolamo Stabile – and their af- filiated company in Luxembourg, Optimum Management. Matta and his company are al- ready under the spotlight of the Malta Financial Services Author- ity, having had an application to upgrade the licence of Futura Funds frozen, ostensibly over Op- timum's role in managing funds for the Banco Nazionale di Vicen- za – now fused with another bank into a new entity on orders of the European Central Bank. At the heart of the matter is an alleged ruse to use the Vati- can's money to buy a company that owns the Exchange Palace in Budapest, by taking over a non- performing loan it was issued by a Hungarian bank. While the IOR believed its mon- ey was going to be used to take over the loan directly, it found out that Futura Investment Manage- ment made an undeclared profit of €11.6 million, ostensibly after duping the Vatican on the price of the Hungarian deal. Into the cougar's mouth In 2013, the IOR set up its 'Ad Maiora' committee to consult on how to invest €30 million through the offices of Optimum Manage- ment. The committee decided to use the money to buy out a non-per- forming loan of €32 million issued by a Hungarian bank to the devel- oper and owner of the Exchange Palace, and convert that loan into an 84% share in the Hungarian company redeveloping the prop- erty. To do this, IOR invested €21 mil- lion of its cash in 'class B' shares of the Kappa fund, which was run by Futura Investment Management, so that together with other inves- From Rome to Malta, via Panama and Dubai: the Vatican bank claims its financial advisors and their Maltese firms used its millions to make a quick killing at its expense. Now it wants them back TWO burglars escaped with an unspecified amount of cash and other valuable objects from a Sliema residence yesterday after forcing their way into the house and tying up the owner. Police said they were noti- fied of the burglary at around 9.50am. On their arrival at the residence in Norfolk Street, they learned that two hooded and armed men had forced their way into the residence. The burglars then tied up the 56-year-old man inside the house, before making off with various valuable objects and cash. A police statement provided no details as to the nationality of the two men, the nature of the objects stolen or the amount of cash lifted in the robbery. After the two men escaped, the victim managed to untie himself and call for assistance. Police said the man was not injured. Police investigations are con- tinuing. Armed burglars escape with loot from Sliema residence, leaving owner tied up