No Vatican law requires the Pope to testify at a trial.
In the call, Becciu can be heard asking the Pope to confirm that he had authorized payments to free the nun, who was kidnapped in 2017. She was eventually released last year and met with the pope.
Beccui said that the payments were $363,706 USD to Inkerman Group and $519,518 USD in ransom for the nun. He also allegedly oversaw a multimillion-dollar investment in luxury property in London that is at the center of the trial. Prosecutors have accused defendants of defrauding the Holy See and of then extorting 15 million euros from the Vatican to acquire control of the property. The Vatican lost $100 million euros on the property transaction alone.
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