Italy should do more to combat money laundering and prosecute those involved in terrorist financing, a global anti-money-laundering watchdog said on Thursday, saying smaller cases were slipping through the cracks.
Italy, the euro zone’s third-largest economy, has stepped up action against international crime gangs and suspected terrorism financing in recent years.
But the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said that after a visit to Italy between June and July last year, it found authorities could still impose tougher sanctions to deter money laundering and bring more criminal cases.
“The assessment found that sophisticated analysis of terrorist financing-related suspicious transaction reports by the Unità di Informazione Finanziaria and Guardia di Finanza resulted in a significant number of complex stand-alone terrorist financing investigations being pursued over the evaluation period,” said the Paris-based FATF.
“However, simple terrorist financing cases involving those who raise or use their own funds or move low levels of money to support terrorist activity are not actively pursued with a goal to prosecution,” it added.
The FATF said it had set out steps for Italy to take over the next three years, including giving better guidance on money laundering risks to businesses outside the traditional financial sector.
It added that if Italy, like other countries monitored by the FATF, failed to address the issues, the watchdog could raise its concerns more publicly.
Italy’s Economy Ministry said in a statement that the report provided “an overall favourable assessment”.
Compared to a previous evaluation in 2016, it found “a significant strengthening of the institutional and operational framework, as well as improved capabilities in detecting and countering illicit financial activities,” the ministry added.
