The First Civil Chamber of the Republic of Malta has ordered four companies to pay jointly and severally 24.1 million euros to the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), plus 8 % interest from the date of the judgment until full payment. The IOR itself announced the ruling on 6 November, according to Vatican News, and it is a first-instance decision in the case of the so-called Kappa Fund.
The defendants are Optimum Evolution Fund SIF, Optimum Asset Management S.A., Futura Investment Management Limited and Futura Funds SICAV plc. The court held that they breached their fiduciary duties to the Vatican bank under Article 1124A of the Maltese Civil Code.
The investment in the Budapest building
The matter concerns the management of the IOR’s investment in the Kappa fund and the operations of the Exchange Palace real-estate project in Budapest. According to the judgment, the structure of the transaction, which involved an intermediary entity called Cougar, resulted in an unjustified transfer of value to the detriment of the IOR.
The court also rejected any breach by the Institute toward the Kappa fund and ruled that it was not obliged to provide additional capital. It likewise dismissed in full the claims the four companies had brought against the IOR.
Proceedings opened in 2017
The IOR states that the ruling comes “after a long judicial journey that began in 2017” and stresses that “for the first time a judge has examined the substance of the case.” In its statement it asserts that “the judgment handed down today clarifies the facts.” According to Vatican News, proceedings are also pending in other jurisdictions.
The decision comes just days after the Vatican appeals court postponed the Becciu case to January 2027 following an eleven-minute hearing, a criminal proceeding that also revolves around investments of Holy See funds.