New arrest warrant ex-Vatican clergyman issued for money laundering

A new arrest warrant was issued Tuesday against Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, the former Vatican official arrested last year, police said. Scarano is accused of laundering major sums of money through fake donations given to associations linked to him, ANSA reported. The new arrest warrant also requests the Vatican Bank freeze all accounts linked to Scarano. A second priest was placed under house arrest in the investigation. Scarano, the former head of analytic accounts at the Holy See's asset management agency APSA, was already under house arrest after allegedly planning to smuggle millions of dollars into Italy. He was detained in June and accused of conspiring with a former Italian spy and a financial broker to bring the money from Switzerland, but has denied the charges. Last year, Pope Francis said he was hurt by the case. The Vatican has made several attempts to fight money laundering and introduce financial transparency, ANSA said.