VATICAN CITY
Bloomberg Businessweek
By Chiara Vasarri and Alessandra Migliaccio December 12, 2013
The Vatican has made progress in improving financial transparency, though it still needs to carry out more internal controls, according to a European report on the city-state’s efforts to prevent money-laundering.
Moneyval, the Council of Europe’s body that monitors money laundering and terrorism financing, approved a progress report on the Vatican following an initial evaluation in July 2012. The watchdog praised financial transparency agreements signed by the city-state with other countries as well as its efforts to bring to light suspicious transactions.
“It is clear from this review that much work has been done in a short time,” according to the report published today. “The legal structure for criminalization of money laundering and terrorism financing and related confiscation is much improved, but still needs to be tested in practice.”
The watchdog recommended more checks be carried out by the Vatican’s Financial Information Authority, or FIA, and said staff should be more experienced and better trained. The fact that the Vatican bank, also known as the Institute for Works of Religion, and the Holy See’s administrative body, APSA, weren’t subject to formal inspections is “surprising,” Moneyval said in the report.
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