Italy: Anti-Money laundering unit says "dirty" transactions boomed in 2016

Over 100,000 suspicious financial transactions were flagged in Italy in 2016, the Bank of Italy's Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) said Monday. Of these, 619 transactions were flagged as possible terrorist financing, an 127 percent increase compared to 2015, Claudio Clemente, Director of the FIU reported this at the presentation of the Annual Report on the Unit’s activities in 2016. 
According to the report, 37% of the suspicious transactions were related to individuals under investigation or otherwise flagged by authorities, and about one-fifth were related to non-profit organizations that were "mostly linked to local immigrant communities".

“In 2016, the FIU’s indications regarding suspected transactions totaled an overall value of more than €88 billion, and more than €150 billion if we include attempted operations,” warns Banca d’Italia Governor Ignazio Visco, who emphasizes that, “the most important results were obtained by prevention system.” 

The UIF's definition of an anomaly includes unusual amounts of money being transferred, a change in the frequency of such operations, and the kind and the location of the receiving counterpart.
These included money transfers abroad "to geographical areas that are held to be at high risk of terrorism", i.e. are marked by political instability and/or border on conflict areas, according to the UIF report.

"The significant increase in reports of operations suspected of financing terrorism indicates increased awareness on the part of operators such as banks and other players," the report said.
This increased awareness leads to attention to details such as clients who appear reluctant to provide information, or whose explanations for the transfers are not convincing, and generally any sudden change in client behavior or spending patterns, it added.

Minister of the Economy Pier Carlo Padoan discussed the FIU’s “great results.” According to the Minister, both the anti-money laundering operations and the FIU’s efforts to fight terrorism financing have produced “very important results in Italy’s efforts to fight crime,” thanks also to the “awareness” of the private citizens and public authorities who “are cooperating more intensely and effectively.”