Italy: Suspicious Transaction Reporting: Recent Developments in Legislation

Abstract

Considered from an international and comparative perspective Italian anti‐money laundering legislation appears rigorous and comprehensive. It includes general norms and aggravating circumstances for conspiracy to engage in organised and economic crime; rules which oblige the financial sector to identify and report currency transactions in excess of 20 million lire (approximately £6,600; and hereinafter called ‘large currency transactions’); provisions punishing money laundering as a crime; norms which sanction the failure to report suspicious transactions by financial intermediaries; provisions prohibiting ‘tipping‐off’ and rules which provide for the confiscation and freezing of the proceeds of crime, which shift the burden of proof in cases where the accused fails to demonstrate the origin of the suspicious assets. The legislative structure provides, likewise, norms on ‘sting operations’, establishing an express immunity clause for ‘undercover agents’. Lastly, the legislation further defines the parameters of international judicial assistance.

Citation

Zaccagnini, C. (1998), "Italy: Suspicious Transaction Reporting: Recent Developments in Legislation", Journal of Money Laundering Control, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 181-185. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb027185