Vatican declares partial mistrial in cardinal's fraud case

"The court said that prosecutors failed to share the full case files with defendants and their legal teams, and also improperly redacted some items, depriving the defense of due process. The court also ruled that one of then-Pope Francis' decrees, which allowed prosecutors to proceed without a preliminary judge overseeing their work, ultimately amounted to a new law."

"It shows that from the first moment, we were right to raise the violation of the right to defense and to request that the law be respected to have a fair trial. This ruling could throw other rulings that used the same decree as a basis for the case into question."

A Vatican appeals court declared a partial mistrial in the case against Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who was convicted in 2023 of misappropriating Church funds for a failed London real estate deal worth approximately 200 million pounds. The court found that prosecutors failed to share complete case files with the defense and improperly redacted evidence, violating due process rights. Additionally, the court ruled that Pope Francis' decree allowing prosecutors to proceed without preliminary judicial oversight was void because it was never officially published, rendering it legally ineffective. This decision potentially undermines other cases relying on the same decree as legal basis.

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