Subject: VISnews120718
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VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - N° 141
DATE 18-07-2012
Summary:
- MONEYVAL REPORT: GIVING CONCRETE FORM TO THE MORAL COMMITMENT OF THE
VATICAN AND THE HOLY SEE
___________________________________________________________
MONEYVAL REPORT: GIVING CONCRETE FORM TO THE MORAL COMMITMENT OF THE VATICAN
AND THE HOLY SEE
Vatican City, 18 July 2012 (VIS) - Msgr. Ettore Balestrero, under secretary
for Relations with State, today presented a briefing to journalists in the
Holy See Press Office concerning the publication of the first Mutual
Evaluation Report on the Holy See
and on Vatican City State ("MONEYVAL Report") regarding adherence to the 40 +
IX FATF recommendations against money laundering and countering the financing
of terrorism (AML/CFT). Msgr. Balestrero was head of the Holy See delegation
to the plenary
session of MONEYVAL held in Strasbourg, France, on 4 July.
Extracts from Msgr. Balestrero's English-language presentation are given below:
"Vatican City State has a very small territory, with a small population, a
very low level of domestic crime and no market economy. It is not a financial
centre and its financial activities are meant to support its works of charity
and of religion.
However the Holy See enjoys a recognised moral voice and in this sense is
deeply connected not only with its immediate neighbours, but with all
countries of the world. Moreover the Holy See, as primarily responsible for
the universal mission of the
Church, has a special ability - even duty - to guide and orient Catholic
religious organisations throughout the world. While those organisations exist
within their own civil jurisdictions and are bound to follow the laws of those
jurisdictions on
AML/CFT issues, it is important that the Holy See use its moral authority to
raise maximum awareness about the far too frequent transnational crime of
money laundering and the financing of terrorism".
Beginning along the path and first accomplishments
"There has always been a clear determination to fight money laundering and
terrorist financing, as well as a legal system that already had several of the
elements necessary to tackle ML/FT problems.
"At the end of 2010, we passed an AML/CFT law and requested evaluation in
February 2011 by MONEYVAL. Our law came into force on 1 April 2011. Our
Financial Intelligence Authority was operational by June. In November 2011, we
received our first MONEYVAL
on-site visit. The team of our evaluators was widely considered to be perhaps
the strongest team MONEYVAL had ever assembled. It included the president, the
secretary and an administrator of MONEYVAL, the president of the Egmont Group
of Financial
Intelligence Units, two senior financial experts and a professor of
international law".
Revision of the First AML/CFT Legislation
"Based on the preliminary remarks of the evaluators in November, it became
apparent that the first version of the law, while representing an important
effort at proper legislation, contained gaps and other difficulties that
needed to be addressed in
order to move forward.
"All jurisdictions that receive an on-site visit are given two months to
introduce changes in their legislation, that will be included in the
evaluation report. Within this time frame, on 25 January 2012, a new law was
introduced that provided for more
effective cooperation among the Vatican authorities involved in the prevention
and countering of money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The new law
stressed the importance of their mutual connections and the need to better
allocate their
respective competences in order to establish a stronger and more sustainable
AML/CFT system".
The present AML/CFT system
"Some of the more important elements of the current AML/CFT regime include:
"- The establishment of a risk-based approach to AML/CFT work, particularly in
regard to the identification of suspicious transactions.
"- Enhanced emphasis on international cooperation, including full exchange of
information with foreign counterparts. And I stress that this includes
exchange of information including information prior to 1 April 2011.
"- Laws relating to financial institution secrecy are consistent with
international standards.
"- The criminal law is significantly improved, by providing a comprehensive
definition of money laundering, and an array of predicate crimes in line with
international standards, as well as the criminalisation of the financing of
terrorism.
"- The power of the courts to prosecute money laundering, financing of
terrorism, and its predicate crimes, as well as to freeze and confiscate the
proceeds of ML/FT activity has been strengthened.
"- The sanctions for failure to fulfil AML/CFT requirements are enhanced and
made applicable to legal persons.
"- Entering into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is a requirement for the
exchange of financial information with financial intelligence units from other
States. We pledge this to be an effective and reliable tool for exchanging
information on the
basis of reciprocity with those jurisdictions that are also committed to the
fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
"- The power of the AML/FT supervisor to perform an inspection of any
financial institution is made explicit and the law provides for the creation
of a specific and detailed regulation upon the basis of which that inspection
could be conducted.
"In addition, the Holy See, acting also on behalf of Vatican City State, has
ratified the following Conventions: the Vienna Convention against Illicit
Traffic on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988); the New York
Convention for the
Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (1999), and the Palermo Convention
against Transnational Organised Crime (2000).
"These Conventions are immediately applicable in our legal system, without any
further need to implement legislation regarding extradition and cooperation.
"In addition, the area of international cooperation was carefully assessed The
findings of the evaluators were that the current system of the Holy See and of
Vatican City State is largely compliant with international standards".
Areas Where Evaluators Noted a Need for Improvement
"We are aware that, like other jurisdictions, some areas of the
atican’s systems to fight money laundering and the financing of
terrorism still need to improve. After the new law was adopted in January, we
addressed many of these issues in the
course of our continuing exchanges with the evaluators. Other issues will be
addressed expeditiously and giving proof of effectiveness. For example:
"- There are some concerns expressed in the report regarding the use of an MOU
to establish the basis for international cooperation between financial
intelligence units. We feel that the adoption of this requirement, which is in
line with international
standards, represents the right approach for the Vatican which, as a smaller
jurisdiction, wishes to interact on fair and fully reciprocal terms with other
countries. Indeed, this is a common choice made by many jurisdictions,
including New Zealand,
Canada, Australia and others; nor is this choice disfavored by such noted FATF
members as the United States.
"- The Pontifical Commission is mandated by the law to provide for a
regulation permitting the AML/CFT supervisor to perform on-site inspections.
The evaluators note that until such a regulation becomes law, the supervisor's
inspection powers are not
yet defined. We agree. That regulation, which is already being drafted, will
reflect our seriousness of purpose.
"- The report notes that the original structure of a Financial Intelligence
Authority, which combines the financial intelligence unit function and the
regulatory functions of a supervisor, appears to create difficulties. This
structure of the FIA, which
concentrated all AML intelligence and supervision, was inherited from the
first version of the law. It was retained in the second version of the law.
The evaluators have expressed certain scepticism as to its 'workability'. We
are grateful for this
observation which we take seriously.
"- The report notes that conflicts of interest may arise due to the same
person working at the same time as a supervisor and in one of the supervised
entities".
Next Steps After Passing the New Law
"After adoption of the present law, the Holy See has continued to improve its
anti-money- laundering system. Above all, the Holy See and the Vatican
authorities have moved from shorter-term solutions to the creation of long
term, sustainable and
effective solutions; and will continue to do.
"For example, after 25 January, that is after the above mentioned period of
two months following the first on-site visit:
"- The Holy Sere established and implemented a terrorist list in line with the
measures required by the United Nations Security Council.
"- We have officially applied to join the Egmont Group, which is the
internationally accredited group of Financial Intelligence Units formed to
favour rapid and reciprocal exchanges of information.
"- Through the execution of memoranda of understanding, we have expeditiously
moved to insert our own financial intelligence authority into the
international network of financial intelligence units.
"- As mentioned, the Commission of Cardinals for Vatican City State is in the
process of adopting an inspection regulation.
"- We have initiated further revision of our criminal law, with a view to
further modernise its provisions in light of international standards.
"- Shortly we will complete our risk assessment.
"- We are considering ratification of other crime fighting conventions and new
legislation regarding non-profit organisations".
Conclusion
"We have taken a definitive step to lay the foundations to a structure - a
house if you will - that is to a robust and sustainable system to combat money
laundering and the financing of terrorism. Now it is our wish to fully
construct a building that
effectively shows the Holy See’s and Vatican City State’s desire
to be a reliable partner in the international community".
___________________________________________________________
Per ulteriori informazioni e per la ricerca di documenti consultare il
sito: www.wisnews.org e www.vatican.va
Il servizio del VIS viene inviato soltanto agli indirizzi di posta
elettronica che ne hanno fatto richiesta. Se per qualunque motivo
non si desidera continuare a riceverlo, si prega di visitare nostra pagina
dinizio:
http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/vis/italinde.php
Copyright (VIS): Le notizie contenute nei servizi del Vatican
Information Service possono essere riprodotte parzialmente o totalmente
citando la fonte: V.I.S. - Vatican Information Service.
--Boundary_(ID_P2hvR8wFy78K6bNO5HQ9Ag)
Content-type: text/html; CHARSET=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT
VISnews120718
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE YEAR XXII - N° 141DATE 18-07-2012
Summary: - MONEYVAL REPORT: GIVING CONCRETE
FORM TO THE MORAL COMMITMENT
OF THE VATICAN AND THE HOLY SEE
MONEYVAL REPORT: GIVING CONCRETE FORM TO THE MORAL COMMITMENT OF THE
VATICAN AND THE HOLY SEE
Vatican City, 18 July 2012 (VIS) - Msgr. Ettore Balestrero, under secretary
for Relations with State, today presented a briefing to journalists in the
Holy See Press Office concerning the publication of the first Mutual
Evaluation Report on the Holy
See and on Vatican City State ("MONEYVAL Report") regarding adherence to the
40 + IX FATF recommendations against money laundering and countering the
financing of terrorism (AML/CFT). Msgr. Balestrero was head of the Holy See
delegation to the plenary
session of MONEYVAL held in Strasbourg, France, on 4 July.
Extracts from Msgr. Balestrero's English-language presentation are given
below:
"Vatican City State has a very small territory, with a small population, a
very low level of domestic crime and no market economy. It is not a financial
centre and its financial activities are meant to support its works of charity
and of religion.
However the Holy See enjoys a recognised moral voice and in this sense is
deeply connected not only with its immediate neighbours, but with all
countries of the world. Moreover the Holy See, as primarily responsible for
the universal mission of the
Church, has a special ability - even duty - to guide and orient Catholic
religious organisations throughout the world. While those organisations exist
within their own civil jurisdictions and are bound to follow the laws of those
jurisdictions on
AML/CFT issues, it is important that the Holy See use its moral authority to
raise maximum awareness about the far too frequent transnational crime of
money laundering and the financing of terrorism".
Beginning along the path and first accomplishments
"There has always been a clear determination to fight money laundering and
terrorist financing, as well as a legal system that already had several of the
elements necessary to tackle ML/FT problems.
"At the end of 2010, we passed an AML/CFT law and requested evaluation in
February 2011 by MONEYVAL. Our law came into force on 1 April 2011. Our
Financial Intelligence Authority was operational by June. In November 2011, we
received our first
MONEYVAL on-site visit. The team of our evaluators was widely considered to be
perhaps the strongest team MONEYVAL had ever assembled. It included the
president, the secretary and an administrator of MONEYVAL, the president of
the Egmont Group of
Financial Intelligence Units, two senior financial experts and a professor of
international law".
Revision of the First AML/CFT Legislation
"Based on the preliminary remarks of the evaluators in November, it became
apparent that the first version of the law, while representing an important
effort at proper legislation, contained gaps and other difficulties that
needed to be addressed in
order to move forward.
"All jurisdictions that receive an on-site visit are given two months to
introduce changes in their legislation, that will be included in the
evaluation report. Within this time frame, on 25 January 2012, a new law was
introduced that provided for
more effective cooperation among the Vatican authorities involved in the
prevention and countering of money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
The new law stressed the importance of their mutual connections and the need
to better allocate their
respective competences in order to establish a stronger and more sustainable
AML/CFT system".
The present AML/CFT system
"Some of the more important elements of the current AML/CFT regime include:
"- The establishment of a risk-based approach to AML/CFT work, particularly
in regard to the identification of suspicious transactions.
"- Enhanced emphasis on international cooperation, including full exchange
of information with foreign counterparts. And I stress that this includes
exchange of information including information prior to 1 April 2011.
"- Laws relating to financial institution secrecy are consistent with
international standards.
"- The criminal law is significantly improved, by providing a comprehensive
definition of money laundering, and an array of predicate crimes in line with
international standards, as well as the criminalisation of the financing of
terrorism.
"- The power of the courts to prosecute money laundering, financing of
terrorism, and its predicate crimes, as well as to freeze and confiscate the
proceeds of ML/FT activity has been strengthened.
"- The sanctions for failure to fulfil AML/CFT requirements are enhanced
and made applicable to legal persons.
"- Entering into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is a requirement for
the exchange of financial information with financial intelligence units from
other States. We pledge this to be an effective and reliable tool for
exchanging information on the
basis of reciprocity with those jurisdictions that are also committed to the
fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
"- The power of the AML/FT supervisor to perform an inspection of any
financial institution is made explicit and the law provides for the creation
of a specific and detailed regulation upon the basis of which that inspection
could be conducted.
"In addition, the Holy See, acting also on behalf of Vatican City State,
has ratified the following Conventions: the Vienna Convention against Illicit
Traffic on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988); the New York
Convention for the
Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (1999), and the Palermo Convention
against Transnational Organised Crime (2000).
"These Conventions are immediately applicable in our legal system, without
any further need to implement legislation regarding extradition and
cooperation.
"In addition, the area of international cooperation was carefully assessed
The findings of the evaluators were that the current system of the Holy See
and of Vatican City State is largely compliant with international
standards".
Areas Where Evaluators Noted a Need for Improvement
"We are aware that, like other jurisdictions, some areas of the
Vatican’s systems to fight money laundering and the financing of
terrorism still need to improve. After the new law was adopted in January, we
addressed many of these issues in the
course of our continuing exchanges with the evaluators. Other issues will be
addressed expeditiously and giving proof of effectiveness. For example:
"- There are some concerns expressed in the report regarding the use of an
MOU to establish the basis for international cooperation between financial
intelligence units. We feel that the adoption of this requirement, which is in
line with
international standards, represents the right approach for the Vatican which,
as a smaller jurisdiction, wishes to interact on fair and fully reciprocal
terms with other countries. Indeed, this is a common choice made by many
jurisdictions, including
New Zealand, Canada, Australia and others; nor is this choice disfavored by
such noted FATF members as the United States.
"- The Pontifical Commission is mandated by the law to provide for a
regulation permitting the AML/CFT supervisor to perform on-site inspections.
The evaluators note that until such a regulation becomes law, the supervisor's
inspection powers are not
yet defined. We agree. That regulation, which is already being drafted, will
reflect our seriousness of purpose.
"- The report notes that the original structure of a Financial Intelligence
Authority, which combines the financial intelligence unit function and the
regulatory functions of a supervisor, appears to create difficulties. This
structure of the FIA,
which concentrated all AML intelligence and supervision, was inherited from
the first version of the law. It was retained in the second version of the
law. The evaluators have expressed certain scepticism as to its 'workability'.
We are grateful for
this observation which we take seriously.
"- The report notes that conflicts of interest may arise due to the same
person working at the same time as a supervisor and in one of the supervised
entities".
Next Steps After Passing the New Law
"After adoption of the present law, the Holy See has continued to improve
its anti-money- laundering system. Above all, the Holy See and the Vatican
authorities have moved from shorter-term solutions to the creation of long
term, sustainable and
effective solutions; and will continue to do.
"For example, after 25 January, that is after the above mentioned period of
two months following the first on-site visit:
"- The Holy Sere established and implemented a terrorist list in line with
the measures required by the United Nations Security Council.
"- We have officially applied to join the Egmont Group, which is the
internationally accredited group of Financial Intelligence Units formed to
favour rapid and reciprocal exchanges of information.
"- Through the execution of memoranda of understanding, we have
expeditiously moved to insert our own financial intelligence authority into
the international network of financial intelligence units.
"- As mentioned, the Commission of Cardinals for Vatican City State is in
the process of adopting an inspection regulation.
"- We have initiated further revision of our criminal law, with a view to
further modernise its provisions in light of international standards.
"- Shortly we will complete our risk assessment.
"- We are considering ratification of other crime fighting conventions and
new legislation regarding non-profit organisations".
Conclusion
"We have taken a definitive step to lay the foundations to a structure - a
house if you will - that is to a robust and sustainable system to combat money
laundering and the financing of terrorism. Now it is our wish to fully
construct a building that
effectively shows the Holy See’s and Vatican City State’s desire
to be a reliable partner in the international community".
Per ulteriori informazioni e per la ricerca di documenti consultare il
sito: www.wisnews.org e www.vatican.va Il servizio
del VIS viene inviato soltanto agli indirizzi di posta elettronica che
ne hanno
fatto richiesta. Se per qualunque motivo non si desidera continuare a
riceverlo, si prega di visitare nostra pagina dinizio: http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/v
s/italinde.php
Copyright (VIS): Le notizie contenute nei servizi del Vatican
Information Service possono essere riprodotte parzialmente o totalmente
citando la fonte: V.I.S. - Vatican Information Service.
--Boundary_(ID_P2hvR8wFy78K6bNO5HQ9Ag)--
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