Vatican's Financial Information Authority releases Annual Report
(Vatican Radio) The Holy See Press Office on Wednesday hosted the launch of the Annual
Report of the Financial Information Authority for 2012. The Director of the AIF,Rene
Brülhart, highlighted the cooperation of various Vatican offices in tackling any potential
abuse of the financial system. Communique on the Annual Report of the Financial
Information Authority, 2012
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. The
outlook for 2013 foresees a further strengthening of the AML/CFT system including
the implementation of Moneyval Recommendations through appropriate new or amended
legislation and a continuation of the awareness enhancing process across all relevant
authorities and institutions. AIF is the competent authority of the Holy See
and the Vatican City State for financial intelligence and for supervision and regulation
in the prevention and countering of money laundering and financing of terrorism.
AIF was established in 2010 and became operational in April of 2011.