Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism: Non-Profit comes under the Crosshairs

The world of the nonprofit international sector enters the crosshairs of the anti-money laundering law. Marking an epoch-making step - until now the entire third sector system had remained on the margins of the money laundering prevention regulations - is the text of the fiscal omnibus decree on economic matters approved last Friday by the Council of Ministers.

A reading of the articles, which affect both Legislative Decree No. 231 of 2007 (prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering) and, above all, Legislative Decree No. 109 of the same year (combating the financing of terrorism and the activities of countries that threaten international peace and security), reveals the strong 'push' of current events. Interested in the changes is in fact theFinancial Security Committee - set up at the MEF in 2001 in an anti-terrorism function, whose powers were then extended to the anti-money laundering in 2007, which, "without prejudice to the specific competencies of the individual authorities" that make it up (among others, representatives of the top management of the Gdf, Police and Carabinieri, the National Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Directorate), becomes "the central contact point to respond to international requests for issues relating to the risk of abuse for the purpose of financing terrorism of non-profit entities".

As further evidence of the pressing international dynamics, a few lines further on, the amendment to Legislative Decree 109 emphasises that the 'point of contact' must provide 'timely' responses to reminders that arrive from foreign authorities and agencies. To complete this first 'spotlight' on the Third Sector (already at the centre three years ago of the Quatargate and Maroccogate scandals within the Union institutions), the new regulation also indicates among the tasks of the CSF is that of 'conducting awareness-raising activities about the risk to which non-profit organisations themselves might be exposed'.

Between the folds of the Omnibus Decree there are also other changes to international cooperation procedures - Italian administration side - especially in the area of sanctions. In this regard, the area of intervention of prevention also widens to include the subject of 'financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction', which goes hand in hand with 'terrorism' - the target of international standards since the attack on the Twin Towers in 2001.

Very important here are the implications for the so-called 'obligated entities' of AML. The Financial Security Committee 'shall identify, analyse and assess the national risk of financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, understood as the risk of non-application and evasion of targeted financial sanctions related to the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction'. The analysis will occur every three years, unless the SFC decides to renew it sooner.