Vatican’s cycling federation official at centre of Amanda Muscat kickback allegations

The man at the heart of the kickback allegations involving Amanda Muscat, Valerio Agnoli, is also a full-time employee of the Vatican’s cycling federation.

The Papal microstate has its own fledgling sports organisation and according to Agnoli’s LinkedIn profile, he is the relationship manager of its cycling team – dubbed Team of the Pope.

A company linked to Agnoli is understood to have made payments totalling €50,000 to Amanda Muscat in 2023, some 18 months after she stopped working at the Maltese tourism ministry.

The payments were flagged as suspicious by the Maltese Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit and referred to the police for further investigation, according to a report in the Times of Malta.

The FIAU, which gathers intelligence, normally refers cases to the police when it suspects money laundering. In this case, the money is suspected of being a kickback after Agnoli secured a contract from the Malta Tourism Authority.

Agnoli is an Italian road bicycle racer and was hired on what has been described as an “ad hoc” basis to promote cycling tourism by the MTA in 2021.

The arrangement was formalised last year with Agnoli receiving an “all-inclusive remuneration of €20,000 per annum”, according to information the Tourism Ministry gave the Times. This was the same year, Muscat received payments totalling €50,000 from a company linked to Agnoli for work purportedly linked to assistance with cycling initiatives in Equatorial Guinea, Italy, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

In September 2022, the MTA concluded a partnership agreement with Athletica-Vaticana-Vatican Cycling to have the VisitMalta brand logo printed on their kits. The Vatican’s cycling federation was admitted as an official member of the International Cycling Union in September 2021.

Athleta Vaticana is the Holy See’s umbrella sports organisation and is made up of citizens of the Vatican City, employees of the Holy See and their immediate family members.

Agnoli has been the Vatican’s cycling federation’s external relations manager since June 2022.