While the final stages of the Anti-Money Laundering Exhibition with the invaluable intervention of the Magistrate Piercamillo Davigo, in Rome the Government definitively approved the Implementing Decree of the Fourth EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive.

The decree implements EU Directive 2015/849, which introduced provisions to optimize the use of anti-money laundering and terrorist financing tools in all Member States.

The addressees of the anti-money laundering legislation are natural and legal persons operating in the financial sector and professionals required to comply with specific obligations regarding customer verification and reporting of suspicious transactions involving money laundering or terrorist financing to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) which carries out the relevant analysis.

However, in accordance with the recommendations contained in the parliamentary opinion, the group of individuals classified as 'politically exposed persons' subject to more thorough checks has been expanded: in addition to high-ranking state officials, ministers and parliamentarians, heads of the judiciary, regional councillors and assessors, European parliamentarians, and general directors of local health authorities and hospitals, the mayors of municipalities with a population of at least 15.000 inhabitants and the heads of companies in which they have a stake are now included.

Among the new measures introduced are the strengthening of the role of the Anti-Mafia and Counterterrorism Directorate and the reorganization of administrative sanctions, through a system of measures graduated according to the severity of the violations. To this end, a system of sanctions has been designed based on effective, proportionate, and dissuasive measures, to be applied to natural and legal persons directly responsible for violating the provisions. Furthermore, it has been established that suspicious transactions cannot be carried out until the relevant report has been made, and the FIU has been required to also report suspicious transactions for terrorist reasons to the security services.

The decree establishes the Register of Beneficial Owners of Legal Entities and Trusts, with the aim of increasing transparency and providing authorities with effective tools to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Information on the beneficial ownership of tax-bearing trusts will also be centralized in a dedicated section of the Business Register.
Finally, the measure streamlines the overall obligations of system actors, eliminating formalities and technicalities relating to data and document storage methods, which are deemed excessive with respect to the need for uniform and homogeneous application of Community law and, as such, potentially anti-competitive.
The new provisions also ensure an adequate system of oversight for operators contracted by money transfer companies, which carry a high risk of criminal infiltration.

Source: Press release from the Presidency of the Council of Ministers

http://www.governo.it/articolo/comunicato-stampa-del-consiglio-dei-ministri-n-31/7447