EXPLAINER: Behind the Vatican's London real estate scandal

ROME (AP) — The Vatican has set a July 27 trial date for 10 people, including a once-powerful cardinal and papal contender, on charges related to the Holy See’s 350 million-euro investment in a luxury London real estate venture.

The 487-page indictment request capped a two-year investigation that exposed how the Vatican had lost millions of euros — much of it donations from the faithful — in fees to brokers, bad investments and other questionable expenses. Beyond that, prosecutors allege a variety of charges against the defendants, including extortion, embezzlement, abuse of office and corruption.

Here is breakdown of the case, the accusations and some of the key players.

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WHAT’S THE DEAL ABOUT?

The Vatican’s Secretariat of State in 2013 decided to invest an initial 200 million euros in a fund operated by Italian businessman Raffaele Mincione, with half the money put into the London building, half in other investments.

By 2018, Mincione’s fund, Athena Capital, had lost 18 million euros from the Vatican's original investment, prosecutors say, prompting the Vatican to seek an exit strategy while still retaining its stake in the building in London’s swank Chelsea neighborhood.

Enter Gianluigi Torzi, another broker, who helped arrange a 40 million euro payout by the Vatican to Mincione for the shares in the building that the Holy See didn’t already have.

But prosecutors say Torzi then hoodwinked the Holy See: Rather than creating a company to manage the building that was controlled by the Vatican, Torzi inserted a clause into the contract giving him full voting rights in the deal, they allege. Prosecutors say Torzi then extorted the Vatican for 15 million euros to take control of the building.

Torzi has said the...