A Vatican prosecutor requested a prison sentence of more than seven years for an Italian cardinal on trial for financial fraud related to a disastrous London property deal.

Cardinal Angelo Becciu, 75, a former advisor to Pope Francis who was fired from another top post in September 2020, is the highest-ranking Catholic Church official to face a Vatican court.

Becciu, who has always proclaimed his innocence, is among 10 defendants in the trial that opened in July 2021 and involves accusations of embezzlement, fraud, abuse of power, extortion, money laundering and corruption.

The offences relate to the Church's loss-making purchase of a luxury property in London's Chelsea district a decade ago, using the Peter's Pence, money donated by churchgoers for the pope's charities.

Becciu also faces separate allegations over hundreds of thousands of euros of Church funds paid to his brother's charity.

At a hearing on Wednesday, Vatican prosecutor Alessandro Diddi called for a sentence of seven years and three months behind bars if Becciu is found guilty.

Overall, Diddi requested more than 73 years in prison for all 10 defendants, in addition to fines.

The court is due to decide at the end of the year.

Diddi said Becciu had caused a loss to the Vatican's finances of between 130 and 180 million euros ($144-$200 million) 

But in a statement, the cardinal's lawyers again insisted on his "absolute innocence".

In January 2022, the Vatican confirmed that it had sold the building on London's Sloane Avenue. 

Reports suggested it could have lost up to £100 million (today around $130 million) on its €350-million investment.