Vatican Inc.

The Vatican, the sovereign papal state at the heart of Rome,
introduced new rules to clean up its financial system.

At the heart of that system is the Vatican's own bank, the Institute
of Religious Works (IOR).

Until now the IOR has operated with few of the regulations that govern
the activities of banks in the wider world, with sometimes disturbing
results.

In the 1980s it became involved in an infamous fraud scandal the Banco
Ambrosiano affair which made global headlines when its chief, Roberrto
Calvi, was found hanging from a bridge in London, a murder that has
never been solved.

More recently Italian state prosecutors have been investigating
allegations of money laundering at the IOR, freezing some accounts,
seizing funds and putting its president under formal scrutiny.