Italy Strengthens AML/CFT Framework but Beneficial Ownership Gaps Persist, FATF Finds

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has released its 2026 Mutual Evaluation Report of Italy. It assesses the country’s anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing, and counter-proliferation financing framework following an on-site review conducted between June and July 2025.

The assessment finds that Italy has developed a whole-of-government approach to combating illicit finance. This initiative is supported by the strong inter-agency coordination and intelligence sharing. Authorities, including financial intelligence and law enforcement units, routinely collaborate on complex investigations. Particularly those linked to organized crime and Mafia-style networks, which remain the primary domestic money laundering threat.

Moreover, international cooperation is also highlighted as a strength. Italian authorities actively participate in cross-border investigations, which include over 50 Joint Investigative Teams across Europe. This strengthens the asset tracing and enforcement outcomes across the country.

In the report, the supervisory oversight is described as robust, particularly within the banking sector. The Bank of Italy applies a continuous risk-based supervision model to financial institutions. However, FATF notes that delays in sanctioning and limited publication of enforcement actions weaken deterrence in some cases.

A significant issue highlighted is the lack of transparency regarding beneficial ownership. The ongoing restrictions in accessing accurate data about ownership impede our ability to gain complete insight into corporate structures. The report also highlights that sanctions for failing to submit ownership information are often not sufficiently dissuasive.

On the operational side, Italy demonstrates strong financial intelligence capabilities. The Financial Intelligence Unit plays a central role in generating actionable intelligence by contributing to investigations, asset freezes, and prosecutions. Over the evaluation period, Italian authorities reportedly confiscated more than 7 billion Euros in illicit assets, which reflects strong enforcement outcomes.

In terrorism financing and proliferation financing cases, authorities rely heavily on suspicious transaction reporting and intelligence-led investigations. While compliance with targeted financial sanctions is generally strong, FATF stresses the need for more consistent and immediate implementation of new listings across all sectors.

Overall, Italy is placed under regular follow-up, with FATF recommending targeted reforms within three years. Key priorities include: 

• Strengthening transparency on beneficial ownership
• Improving DNFBP compliance
• Ensuring faster, more consistent implementation of sanctions updates

For compliance teams, the findings highlight an important message that even well-established AML frameworks can be vulnerable when ownership transparency and the implementation of sanctions fall behind enforcement efforts.