United Nations Global Compact - Communication on Progress 2022
Since 2021, van Berings has been committed to the UN Global Compact and we are glad to share with you our 2022 Communication on Progress.
Italy has recently implemented the EU Directive no. 2015/849 (IV Anti-Money Laundering Directive) on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorism financing and has accordingly reformed the existing regulation (Legislative Decree no. 231/2007) by the Legislative Decree no. 90 dated May 25, 2017, approved by the Italian Government on May 24 and published on June 19, 2017, in the Gazzetta Ufficiale no. 14, whose relevant provisions will come into force on 4 July.
The decree redefines expressions like “money laundering” (which includes operations like transfer, concealment or concealment of the real nature or origins, the purchase of any asset carried out being aware of the origin from criminal activity, although performed outside the national territory) or “terrorism financing” which now regards any activity directed, by any means, to the supply, collection, brokering, in whatever way, of funds and economic resources destined to terrorism.
Anti-money laundering duties concern a large audience of individuals, corporations and professionals including, among others, banking and financial intermediaries other financial operators (including trustee companies and credit intermediaries); accountants, accounting experts, any other person providing accounting and tax services; public notaries and lawyers; statutory auditors; real estate agents; mediators, and out-of-court credit collections companies.
The new regulation also confirms the applicability of the anti-money laundering provisions to the "gaming service providers", whose regulation is contained in the "new" Title IV of the Decree 231.
Furthermore, according to one of the most significant amendments to the existing regulation, anti-money laundering duties will also concern any banking and financial intermediaries and insurance companies which operates on "cross-border" basis in Italy, which means financial entities having their registered office and central administration in another Member State of EU without a branch on the Italian territory.
The system for preventing money laundering is based on cooperation between financial and other institutions and the administrative and law enforcement authorities.
The main anti-money laundering duties relate to:
At this regard, the obliged entity shall:
Professionals are exempt from their obligation to report any information received from a client as a consequence of the examination of the relating legal position or the completion of defense in a proceeding before a judicial authority.
In case the obliged entities are unable to comply with the customer due diligence, they shall neither carry out occasional transactions nor establish business relationships.
The new legislation has tightened up the sanctions against those who have participated in money laundering and terrorism financing activities as well as professionals or institutions in relation to the violation of their duties of customer due diligence, data retention and reporting.
DISCLAIMER: the content of this news is for informational purposes only and neither represents, nor can be construed as a legal opinion