What are the FIU's responsibilities?

The FIU plays a leading role in Italy's system for preventing money laundering and the financing of terrorism. By carrying out its institutional functions, it helps to safeguard the integrity of the lawful economy, preventing it from being contaminated by money of illegal origin or used to finance unlawful purposes.

In its current institutional form, the FIU has been operating since 2008 and carries out highly specialised work. In particular, it performs financial analysis of suspicious transaction reports submitted by banks, other financial intermediaries, professionals, and non‑financial operators (such as art galleries, auction houses, gold dealers and many others). Around 150,000 reports are received each year.

Once received, these reports are examined carefully by the FIU, with the support of automated selection systems. The FIU seeks to trace the flow and movement of funds and to identify any links to criminal activity. The results of these analyses are transmitted to the investigative authorities — the Guardia di Finanza and the Anti‑Mafia Investigative Directorate — and are also shared with the National Anti‑Mafia and Counter‑Terrorism Directorate. The FIU brings possible criminal offences to the attention of the judicial authorities and carries out in‑depth financial analysis in support of criminal investigations and proceedings.

The Unit may also carry out inspections at the premises of designated entities to verify compliance with reporting obligations, or to examine suspicious transactions and activities more closely from a financial perspective.

Through these checks, the Unit can raise awareness among designated entities about compliance with anti‑money laundering (AML) obligations and inform them of any breaches identified. Such violations are then referred to the relevant supervisory authorities (such as Banca d'Italia, IVASS or CONSOB) or to the Ministry of Economy and Finance for possible sanctions.

The FIU may also suspend the execution of suspicious transactions for up to five working days, either at the request of investigative bodies, the judicial authorities, equivalent foreign authorities, or on its own initiative.

Drawing on the information it collects, the FIU also conducts studies on the most common methods used for money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as on economic sectors or geographic areas that are at higher risk of infiltration. The aim is to make these risks known and to prevent unlawful influences on the market.

Finally, the FIU issues instructions on how to detect and report suspicious transactions and develops anomaly indicators and model schemes that highlight unusual economic or financial behaviour in specific sectors or for specific phenomena. These tools draw attention to situations or conduct that may be linked to criminal activity and help operators to identify and properly assess the suspicious transactions that need to be reported.