VATICAN CITY
The Autorità di Informazione Finanziara (AIF) of the Holy See and the Vatican City State has published and presented its first ever Annual Report to the public.
The report reviews the activities and statistics of AIF for full year 2012.
Over the course of the year, AIF reported the submission of 6 Suspicious Transaction Reports, up from only one in the previous year. AIF itself forwarded two Suspicious Transaction Reports to the Vatican Promoter of Justice for further investigation.
“The statistics and trends from 2012 are encouraging and indicates that the system is consistently improving” said Rene Brülhart, Director of AIF.
In 2012, AIF has also initiated the systematic screening and analysis of Cash Transaction Reports submitted by the obliged entities.
“In our efforts to tackle actively any potential abuse of the financial system, we initiated a close and constructive interaction with the Secretariat of State, the Gendarmeria, the Promoter of Justice and the institutions under our oversight in order to improve awareness and safety and ensure a coordinated internal cooperation in AML/CFT matters”, said Director Brülhart.
A further important element of the report is the progress made in international cooperation that builds on the clear commitment of the Holy See to be a credible partner in the international fight against money laundering. 2012 saw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with relevant authorities in Belgium and Spain. “It will continue to be our policy in 2013 to further strengthening international cooperation by signing several more Memorandum of Understanding with our partners in other relevant countries and jurisdictions” said Rene Brülhart.
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