It was 1991 when anti-money laundering legislation was first enacted in our country, thanks to the FATF/GAFI and, above all, the dogged investigative work of the late and unforgettable magistrate Giovanni Falcone, the putative father of the initiative as a whole.
At the time, "staff training," with reference to the banking and financial sector, the sole recipient of "active cooperation" in the fight against money laundering, was entrusted to so-called "moral suasion," a form of moral pressure exerted by the Bank of Italy, which stated: "Intermediaries shall undertake careful training and education of their staff on reporting obligations. These "Instructions" must be disseminated and appropriately explained to all staff, regardless of the legal title under which they perform their work or collaboration."
A blank slate, without sanctions, comparable to a line of thought entrusted, in practice, to the goodwill of the recipients, as the true, sole, and often unsuspecting protagonists in the fight against money laundering.
With the first paragraph of Article 54 of Legislative Decree 231/07, ratifying the Third European Union Anti-Money Laundering Directive, "staff training" took on a clearer framework, where it stated: "The recipients of the obligations and the professional associations shall adopt adequate training measures for staff and collaborators in order to correctly apply the provisions of this decree."
Article 56 of the same decree established heavy fines ranging from ten to two hundred thousand euros for banking and financial institutions that failed to comply with the training requirement.
We therefore moved from moral suasion to a binding norm, from a blank norm to a “coloured” one.
Legislative Decree 231/07, as amended by the law implementing the IV Anti-Money Laundering Directive (Legislative Decree 90/17), requires Financial Intermediaries, Professionals and other categories of recipients of the anti-money laundering legislation to plan periodic anti-money laundering courses for all their employees and collaborators.
Specifically, the new wording of Article 16 of Legislative Decree 231/07 requires those subject to the legislation to adopt adequate Anti-Money Laundering training measures for their personnel, including specific courses for all individuals holding the role of Anti-Money Laundering Officer and Anti-Money Laundering Officer.
The Anti-Money Laundering Training Plan must include a periodic annual course with a program aimed at the correct application of anti-money laundering laws, the recognition of transactions related to money laundering or terrorist financing, and knowledge of and compliance with the anti-money laundering procedures adopted.

What are the training obligations?

Effective application of anti-money laundering legislation presupposes full awareness of the purposes and principles underlying its structure.
All personnel must be made aware of the company obligations and responsibilities that may arise from failure to fulfill them.

Training obligations under Legislative Decree 231/07

Article 54 of Legislative Decree 231/07 requires personnel to be trained in anti-money laundering regulations; specifically, companies and professionals must develop "training programs aimed at recognizing activities potentially linked to money laundering."

Training obligations under the provisions of the Bank of Italy

The provisions of the Bank of Italy regarding Organization, procedures and internal controls aimed at preventing the use of intermediaries for money laundering and terrorist financing purposes, require that particular attention be paid to developing specific anti-money laundering training for employees and collaborators who have direct contact with customers. Furthermore, specific training programs appear appropriate for anti-money laundering personnel. These employees are also required to receive ongoing training on evolving money laundering risks and the typical patterns of criminal financial transactions.
Staff training and education ensure specific preparation for employees and collaborators who come into direct contact with customers and for anti-money laundering personnel.
In Part Three, relating to the structure of the Anti-Money Laundering Controls, it is emphasized that the personnel qualification activity must have a continuity and systematicity and must be carried out within organic programs.
In recent provisions from the Bank of Italy, those subject to anti-money laundering obligations are required to:

• to establish training and education programs for personnel on the obligations set forth in anti-money laundering regulations; training activities must be continuous and systematic and take into account the evolution of legislation and procedures established by the recipient;
• to implement training and education programs for staff on the obligations set forth in anti-money laundering legislation;
• to ensure continuous employee training on evolving money laundering risks and typical patterns of criminal financial transactions, through ongoing and systematic staff training and education, as part of comprehensive programs;
• Regardless of the organizational solution chosen, ensure that the personnel carrying out tasks related to the anti-money laundering function are adequate in number, technical-professional skills and updating, including through ongoing training programs;
• to ensure, in conjunction with other company functions responsible for training, the preparation of an adequate training plan, aimed at achieving continuous updating of personnel;
• to prepare specific and periodic training programs for the distribution network, so that employees have adequate knowledge of the legislation and related responsibilities and are able to consciously use tools and procedures to assist in carrying out their obligations;

According to the Treccani dictionary, the meaning of the noun systematicity is: methodical, regular, methodically, with rigorous order. Therefore a correct interpretation of continuous and systematic training is: absence of improvisation  with  rigorous annual plans anti-money laundering training for each individual employee.
From now on, therefore, it will no longer be acceptable for supervisory bodies to see employees fulfilling their anti-money laundering training obligations with courses scheduled in the last month of the year to ensure compliance with the regulation, without proper time and procedural planning.
The Italian Anti-Money Laundering & Compliance School, a specialized division of the European School of Banking Management, has been active in higher education in banking for over 20 years. It trains employees of various entities subject to anti-money laundering obligations, including banks, gaming companies, and cash-in-transit companies. For these clients, it has designed various Anti-Money Laundering specialization programs, customized to their specific business. Among these programs, the Master's Anti-Money Laundering Diploma, approved at the European level, stands out. The program and content comply with the Bank of Italy's regulations on certification of Anti-Money Laundering skills.

Sergio Silvestri
General Manager
Italian Anti-Money Laundering School