The fund manager at the centre of an ill-fated investment by the Vatican in the London property market has filed a lawsuit against Credit Suisse.
WRM Group claims the Swiss bank did not disclose that the funds for the property deal were taken from donations intended for the needy.
The fund manager, which was founded by former banker Raffaele Mincione, filed a claim in Luxembourg against Credit Suisse and fund administrator Citco this month. The suit alleges that Credit Suisse and Citco did not tell Mincione that investments made in his fund came from a unit of the Vatican that manages charitable donations, known as Peter’s Pence.
Mincione is facing criminal proceedings in the Vatican for his role in a deal in which Peter’s Pence assets were used to buy 60 Sloane Avenue, SW3.
Companies connected to WRM acquired the London building in 2012 for £129m. Two years later, money the Vatican said was from Peter’s Pence was used to buy a stake in the property via an investment fund founded by Mincione at a far higher valuation.
The Vatican acquired the rest of the building in 2018. Vatican prosecutors allege companies founded by Mincione made a large profit from investing in the Knightsbridge building, which was formerly a Harrods warehouse and was earmarked to be developed into luxury apartments.
Senior Holy See officials invested on behalf of the Vatican a total of €350m of donations in the London building between 2014 and 2018, the Vatican has said.
Last year, Vatican prosecutors charged Mincione with various crimes including fraud and embezzlement, allegations that he contests.
