Lawyers for Cardinal Angelo Becciu and two other defendants have filed a strongly worded legal memorandum accusing the Promoter of Justice of openly defying an order from the Vatican Court of Appeal in Rome by withholding integral investigative acts, raising the possibility that the retrial ordered by the court could be derailed.

The memorandum, deposited on May 14 at the Vatican Court of Appeal and seen by il Giornale and reported by Nico Spuntoni, was prepared by the legal team of Cardinal Becciu, Enrico Crasso and Raffaele Mincione. It requests the court to declare “the nullity of the citation to judgment, adopting the consequent measures, as well as to revoke the order relating to the time granted to the parties to ‘prepare the defence evidence’”.

The dispute centres on the Court of Appeal’s earlier instruction requiring the Promoter of Justice to deposit all acts forming the basis of the first-instance convictions by April 30. According to the defence, the Promoter deposited only partially redacted material, maintaining numerous omissis and refusing to hand over the complete files. The lawyers argue that the Promoter “refused to comply with the order issued by the Court” to deposit the full acts in the registry.

The defence memorandum highlights that the Promoter justified the partial disclosure by claiming he would release only documents deemed “pertinent” to the facts of the case, while withholding others on grounds that they concerned matters “not pertaining to the facts” or that could “expose to grave danger the good and interest of the State” if disclosed. The lawyers describe this stance as the Promoter illegitimately arrogating to himself “the power to establish what is ‘pertinent for the purpose of deciding’”, behaviour they term “exactly contrary to that considered lawful and ordered by the Court”.

The memorandum further criticises an offer by the Promoter’s office to allow the Court consultation of withheld material without involving the defence, calling it “a sort of reserved negotiation with the Court on what to deposit” that is “not provided for by any legal norm, but indeed contra legem”.

The lawyers describe the situation as “a grave situation, without precedents” due to the “open refusal” of the Promoter of Justice to respect the Court’s directive. They argue that the nullity of the citation has not been cured, preventing the renewal of the trial as ordered by the Court presided over by Mgr Alejandro Arellano Cedillo.

Cardinal Becciu, a former powerful substitute for general affairs in the Secretariat of State, was convicted in the first-instance verdict in December 2023 alongside nine other defendants on various charges linked to the controversial London property investment that resulted in substantial losses for the Holy See. The case has been one of the most closely watched Vatican financial trials in modern times, exposing serious shortcomings in oversight and governance within the Roman Curia.

The defence team includes prominent Italian advocates Gian Domenico Caiazza, Maria Concetta Marzo, Luigi Panella, Fabio Viglione and Andrea Zappalà. They note that among the withheld material are documents from 31 computer devices seized from Mgr Alberto Perlasca, a key witness and former head of the administrative office of the Secretariat of State who became one of the principal accusers of Cardinal Becciu.

This latest clash occurs as the Vatican judicial system continues to face scrutiny over procedural transparency in high-profile cases. The defence contends that without complete access to the underlying acts, a fair retrial as ordered on appeal is impossible.

The developments add a further layer of complexity to what has already been a protracted and contentious legal process stemming from financial decisions taken during the previous pontificate. Cardinal Becciu has consistently maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings.