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Italy Unveils New Methods to Detect Shell Companies, Prevent Tax Crimes

In a move aimed at cracking down on shell companies and preventing tax fraud, Italy’s Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) has published new research identifying indicators that can help detect these types of entities.

Characteristics of Shell Companies

According to the study, shell companies are often characterized by:

• Limited assets
• Lack of bank financing
• A tendency to change registered offices and stated corporate purposes frequently

The UIF has previously highlighted several key elements that may indicate the presence of a shell company, including:

• The absence of tangible assets
• Significant bank transactions
• Financial statements drafted in abbreviated form

New Indexes for Detecting Shell Companies

In its latest research, the unit has developed five new indexes based on financial statement data that can be used to identify shell companies. These indexes include:

• Tangible assets/total assets
• Interest and other financial expenses/ income
• Paid-up share capital and net reserves/liabilities
• Absolute value of (net purchases + costs for services and use of third-party assets)/incomes
• Personnel expenses/incomes

An early empirical verification revealed that very low values for these indicators are often indicative of shell companies.

Significance in Compliance and EU PIF Directive

The new indicator tool is significant from a compliance perspective, particularly in light of the EU’s PIF directive, which has extended the list of predicate offenses related to fraudulent tax declaration using false invoices. The synthetic indicator can be used by companies to build internal oversight and detect possible shell companies and red flags for tax crimes.

Practical Applications

Suppliers and third-party due diligence may also use the indexes as a preliminary screening tool before authorizing transactions. However, any suspicions arising from these checks should be further investigated through financial, administrative, and fiscal analysis.

Ongoing Efforts to Combat Financial Crime

The UIF’s research is part of its ongoing efforts to combat financial crime and support compliance with anti-money laundering regulations. The development of new detection methods is critical in the fight against tax fraud and money laundering, which are major threats to the Italian economy and global financial stability.

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