Edited by Giuseppe Miceli

When putting together the pieces that make up the regulatory framework for anti-money laundering, the words of the Latin Fathers come to mind: “Ibi semper est victoria, ubi concordia est.”
Legislative Decree 186/2021, aimed at "Preventing, detecting, and combating money laundering," came into force on December 14, 2021, resulting in a more streamlined flow of financial information between EU member states. Pursuant to EU Directive 2019/1153, European foreign exchange police forces will no longer be required to request and obtain authorization from the Judicial Authority.
In Italy, therefore, inspectors of the Guardia di Finanza's Special Currency Police Unit have been granted greater powers, enabling them to rely on more easily accessible international cooperation, resulting in significant time savings in investigations to combat illicit money trafficking.
Decree 186 also strengthens the “exchange of information between the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and its FIU counterparts in EU Member States, as well as with investigative bodies and Europol.
The cooperation framework for a more intense exchange of information is completed, at the national level, also by virtue of the Agreement for the sharing of information on anti-money laundering matters, signed in Rome on 3 December 2021, by the Department of the Police (Chief of Police Director General of the Police Prefect Lamberto Giannini), the Carabinieri (Commander General Gen. CA Teo Luzi) and the Guardia di Finanza (Commander General Gen. CA Giuseppe Zafarana).
Article 1 of the agreement states that "[…] the Parties shall regulate their mutual activities in light of the provisions of Article 12, paragraph 8, of Legislative Decree No. 231 of 21 November 2007, which allows for the sharing of information and financial analyses relevant to the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing within the framework of cooperation between police forces, while preserving the full confidentiality of the context and respecting the protection of the whistleblower pursuant to Article 38 of Legislative Decree No. 231/2007."
This agreement is based on the principles set forth in Article 3, which govern the "Spontaneous Sharing of Anti-Money Laundering Information." "The NSPV shall promptly share anti-money laundering information: a. with the Central Offices of the Public Security Administration, as well as with the Special Units and Commands for the Environmental and Agri-food Protection of the Carabinieri referred to in paragraph 2, if susceptible to investigative development within their respective areas of exclusive or primary competence, pursuant to Legislative Decree No. 177 of August 19, 2016, and the Ministry of the Interior Decree of August 15, 2017; b. with the Central Offices of the Public Security Administration, if it pertains to online child pornography and violence against minors online."
Article 3, paragraph 2, also states: “The information referred to in paragraph 1 shall be shared with: a. the Postal and Telecommunications Police Service, if it relates to online child pornography and violence against minors on the Internet; b. the Highway Police Service and the Railway Police Service, if it relates to their respective areas of competence; c. the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, if it concerns the safety of the national archaeological, historical, artistic, and cultural heritage; d. the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Health, if it relates to safety in matters of health, hygiene, and food adulteration; e. the Carabinieri Command for Environmental Protection and Ecological Transition, if it relates to safety in matters of environmental protection; f. the Carabinieri Command for Agri-food Protection, if it concerns safety in matters of agri-food.”
A preferential lane remains reserved for the flow of information relating to the phenomenon of terrorism, which is immediately shared by the General Command of the Guardia di Finanza within the Strategic Anti-Terrorism Analysis Committee as a collegiate body, by sending it to each of its members.
The agreement provides in art. 4 for the "Sharing of anti-money laundering information on request" and establishes that: "The Central Offices of the Public Security Administration as well as the Departments and Commands referred to in article 3 and the central service of the Carabinieri can request from the NSPV anti-money laundering information regarding the names of interest for use in the context of a criminal proceeding for which investigations are underway. 2. In exceptional and urgent cases, the Central Offices of the Public Security Administration as well as the Departments and Commands referred to in article 3 and the central service of the Carabinieri can request from the NSPV anti-money laundering information regarding the names of interest, if it is necessary to have immediate access to anti-money laundering information in the context of investigations aimed at
upon initiation of criminal proceedings in the areas of their respective exclusive or primary competence.
3. Upon receiving the request referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, the NSPV shall immediately communicate the data and information, in compliance with the provisions of Article 8, paragraph 1, letter a), of Legislative Decree no. 231/2007 and without prejudice to the protocol agreements signed with the DNAA.
Furthermore, the same cited art. 4 establishes that "in order to ensure the effective performance of the activities under their respective competence, subject to any agreements with the Judicial Authority, a preliminary operational coordination will be carried out with the NSPV: a. in cases where the anti-money laundering information is still in the investigative analysis phase and there are significant profiles susceptible to further investigation
development for economic and financial police purposes or is already being examined in depth by the operational branches of the same special unit; b. to identify the competent Provincial Command, in cases where the anti-money laundering information has already been assigned to territorial departments. 4. Requests that are not of a nominative nature are excluded from the sharing governed by this article.
The use of "anti-money laundering information received from foreign FIUs 1. Anti-money laundering information relating to communications received from foreign FIUs [which] may be used within the limits set forth in Article 13-bis, paragraph 2, of Legislative Decree No. 231/2007." This is what Article 5 of the inter-police agreement provides. Also significant is the provisions of Article 6, which establishes the "Strengthening of investigative cooperation between the Guardia di Finanza and the peripheral offices of the Public Security Administration for the exercise of the functions of the Police Commissioner in matters of asset prevention measures."
The results of the information-investigative activities are relevant to what is agreed in Article 7, which states that "1. For the purposes of fulfilling the obligations set forth in Article 9, paragraph 4, letter b), and 41 of Legislative Decree no. 231/2007, the Central Offices of the Public Security Administration, as well as the Departments and Commands referred to in Article 3 and the central service of the Carabinieri, by assigning codes identified in the technical agreement referred to in Article 9, shall inform the NSPV regarding the use of the anti-money laundering information of which they have become aware pursuant to this agreement, acquiring, where necessary, the relevant authorization from the Judicial Authority. 2. The Police Headquarters shall make the communication referred to in paragraph 1 to the Provincial Commands of the Guardia di Finanza." Pursuant to Article 8, the processing of personal data must be "based on compliance with the principles of fairness, lawfulness, transparency, and necessity established by Regulation (EU) No. 2016/679, as well as compliance with the provisions of Legislative Decree No. 196/2003, Legislative Decree No. 101/2018, Legislative Decree No. 51/2018, and Presidential Decree No. 15/2018."
Finally, pursuant to the penultimate article of the inter-force agreement, operational procedures will be identified in a separate technical agreement, and the following are identified as contact persons: a. for the State Police, the Director of the Central Anti-Crime Directorate and the Director of the Central Directorate for the Highway, Railway, and Communications Police, and for the Special Units of the State Police; b. for the Carabinieri, the Head of the 2nd Department of the Carabinieri General Command; c. for the Guardia di Finanza, the Commander of the Economic and Financial Protection Command.

* Editor and Author of the Anti-Money Laundering Atlas, published by Gruppo Maggioli. The article
is the result of the personal thought of its Author and does not bind the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
Finance, the body to which it belongs.