VATICAN CITY: The Vatican signed an agreement to share financial data with the United States, as part of its efforts to comply with international rules against money laundering and terrorist financing.
The Vatican's bank, the Institute of Religious Works (IOR), has for years had a shady reputation and is under investigation in Italy for money laundering.
But in recent years, the Catholic Church has been trying to clean up its act on the issue.
"This is a clear indication that the Holy See and the Vatican City State take international responsibilities to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism very seriously," said Rene Bruelhart, the Vatican‘s top expert on money laundering.
Since its financial watchdog was set up in 2010, the Holy See said it had signed agreements to share financial data with three other countries: Belgium, Spain and Slovenia.
It said it was in negotiations to sign similar deals with at least 20 more nations.
Last year, inspectors from the Moneyval committee of the Council of Europe said the Vatican had come a long way on financial transparency, but still only met nine out of 16 international core standards on the issue. (QNA)
