Italian and Swiss police have searched the offices and homes of a financial broker suspected of committing a €20m fraud against the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor.
The friars last year announced they were facing grave financial difficulties due to “questionable activities” which emptied the coffers of the 800-year-old religious order.
Officials in Lugano, Switzerland, confirmed that police on Wednesday searched the homes of a financial broker named Leonida Rossi, who is suspected of being involved in an alleged fraud connected to the friars. The police acted following a request by financial police in Milan.
In Italy, investigators also conducted searches in connection to the probe, including in the homes of some friars. They were also looking into a group called Anycon, which is allegedly tied to Rossi, according to the Ansa news agency.
Citing unnamed sources, Ansa reported that Rossi had received funds from the friars’ treasurer, Giancarlo Lati, and was told to invest the money in Switzerland. But instead, Rossi allegedly withheld the capital and interest proceeds.
The Franciscan order filed a complaint in Lugano against Rossi. Lati is also reportedly under investigation for embezzlement.
The Franciscans are a community within the Catholic church who follow the teachings of St Francis of Assisi, who advocated a life of poverty.
The order’s financial woes were first disclosed in a rare open letter published last year by American friar Michael Perry, the Franciscans’ minister general.
In the letter, Perry suggested the viability of the order was in doubt due to “questionable activities” involving people who “are not Franciscan”.
While short on detail, the letter describes an investigation that began in September 2014 into the activities of the office of the general treasurer of the Franciscan order dating back to 2003. At the time, Perry said that an unnamed general treasurer had resigned from his duties.
The Franciscan order declined to comment. Rossi and Lati were not immediately available for comment.
