Through a series of dubious transactions, the Vatican eventually sold the property at a loss to extricate itself from the affair, reportedly losing at least $163 million in the process. At the time the transaction began, Becciu was serving as the sostituto, or substitute, in the Secretariat of State, making him effectively the pope’s chief of staff. Six other defendants in the original trial have filed appeals. Both the Secretariat of State and the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, which were civil parties to the first trial, have opted to sit this one out. The court in the first trial, led by presiding judge Giuseppe Pignatone, a veteran lay Italian jurist, ruled that the rescripts did not compromise the defendants’ right to a fair trial, but that conclusion will be challenged during the appeals process.