Vatican probes Finnat Bank chief

(ANSA) - Vatican City, November 4 - A top Vatican court on Wednesday placed Finnat Bank Euramerica SpA President Gianpietro Nattino under investigation following a report by the Vatican Financial Information Authority (AIF). The court has requested the collaboration of Italy and Switzerland in the investigation into bank transactions and trades, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said.
    Nattino was named in an Reuters news agency report on alleged money laundering, insider trading and market manipulation involving the Vatican's finance and real estate manager, the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA).
    The 33-page AIF report said APSA may have been used by people outside the Vatican, with the possible complicity of APSA staff. AIF investigators found a portfolio of over two million euros allegedly connected to Nattino, the contents of which were moved to Switzerland just before new laws against money laundering were introduced in the Vatican.