VATICAN CITY
Wall Street Journal
By GREGORY J. MILLMAN
Wall Street Journal
On Monday, Autorità di Informazione Finanziaria, the Vatican’s anti-money-laundering authority, presented its annual report for 2013, claiming significant progress thanks in part to a stronger legal framework and increased international cooperation. The claims received some support last December, when Moneyval,the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism of the Council of Europe, issued a mostly favorable report on financial reforms underway at the Holy See. Rene Bruelhart, director of the AIF since autumn of 2012, spoke with Risk & Compliance Journal about introducing a new anti-money-laundering regime to the oldest organization in the world.
What were the most important steps taken to improve the Vatican’s anti-money-laundering compliance?
Mr. Bruelhart: I’ve been here a little more than one and a half years, having taken office almost exactly 18 months ago. So the first step was to carry out an internal risk assessment to get an understanding of the risks and vulnerabilities here in the Holy See. We put in place a new legal framework, which was approved by Moneyval in its report in December last year. Once we put a new legal framework in place where the competent authority received a broader mandate, and it was clear what it had to do, that also had an impact on the institutional framework. Almost of the same importance was very strong communication of the purpose of all these changes, the risks, and what happens if you do not implement the changes. When the financial institutions understand it has to be done, you give them guidance, and help them.
On the external side we entered international cooperation, such as membership in the Egmont Group in summer of 2013. The Holy See is a global institution,present all over the world. It is important to get access to information in case something is happening or better to get early enough alerts to avoid something happening.
What were the biggest challenges?
Mr. Bruelhart: It’s the oldest institution in the world and if you want to change something or if something has to be changed, it’s important to say why and how. It’s a question of internal transparency and also credibility. What is the impact? What are the consequences? Why are we having a new law? Why should we become members of Egmont Group, the global organization of financial intelligence? Why do we participate in Moneyval? These are the kind of elements which are important, about which we have to be clear and transparent. In the Holy See, you don’t have a financial center, don’t have any kind of commercial banks, or a stock exchange, so it’s a different environment and you have to communicate quite actively.
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