Financial Crime World

Italy Faces Mixed Results in Terrorist Financing Prevention Measures, Says Report

A recent report has shed light on Italy’s progress in implementing measures to prevent terrorist financing, revealing both significant strides and areas for improvement.

Compliance and Progress

Italy has made notable progress in several key areas:

  • Risk Assessment: The country is compliant with assessing risk and applying a risk-based approach (R.1).
  • Confiscation and Provisional Measures: Italy has demonstrated compliance with record keeping requirements (R.11) and reliance on third parties (R.17).
  • Financial Institution Secrecy Laws: The country is compliant with financial institution secrecy laws (R.9).

However, there are areas where Italy has shown less progress:

  • National Cooperation and Coordination: While largely compliant, the country still needs to strengthen its national cooperation and coordination mechanisms (R.2).
  • Money Laundering Offence: Italy’s implementation of the money laundering offence is also seen as lacking (R.3).
  • Correspondent Banking Requirements: The country has been partially compliant with correspondent banking requirements (R.13).

Areas for Improvement

Italy has fallen short in several critical areas:

  • Targeted Financial Sanctions: The country is non-compliant with targeted financial sanctions related to proliferation (R.7).
  • Prevention of Misuse of New Technologies: Italy has shown a lack of progress in implementing measures to prevent the misuse of new technologies (R.15).

Recommendations

To address these challenges, the report recommends that Italy:

  • Strengthen National Cooperation and Coordination Mechanisms
  • Improve Implementation of Targeted Financial Sanctions
  • Increase Transparency around Beneficial Ownership

Conclusion

Italy’s overall rating reflects a mixed performance in preventing terrorist financing. While progress has been made in certain areas, there is still much work to be done to ensure effective prevention. The Italian government must take concrete steps to address the remaining gaps and improve its compliance with international standards.