Anti-money laundering: surge in reports – 90,200 in just six months

Reports of suspicious transactions (SOS) relating to anti-money laundering soared in the first half of 2026. There were 90,200 such reports, marking an all-time high for a six-month period and representing an increase of 11.6 per cent compared with the same period in 2025. But that is not all: in the first half of the year, the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) analysed 90,049 reports, a rise of 10.7% compared with the first half of the previous year; this, too, is the highest figure on record.

As the UIF explains, “the increase in reporting flows was recorded throughout the entire half-year and was predominantly driven by two online banks, confirming what had already been observed in 2025”. Banks and the Post Office remain the main reporting category with 55,653 SOS reports (61.7 per cent of the total) and show an increase both in absolute terms (+10,021 reports) and as a proportion of total reports (which stood at 56.5 per cent in the first half of 2025). Other financial intermediaries and operators submitted 16,738 reports (18.6 per cent of the total), a decrease of 11.1 per cent compared with the same period in 2025. However, trends within the sector varied.

And these differences also persist within the broader category of non-financial entities. Overall, they submitted 17,809 SOS reports (19.7 per cent of the total), an increase of 8.8 per cent. However, as the UIF explains, ‘the increase is mainly attributable to operators in the gold and precious metals sector, who submitted 3,805 reports, a sharp rise compared with the 1,439 in the first half of 2025 (+164.4 per cent)’. There was also sustained growth in “reports from entities involved in the safekeeping and transport of valuables (from 258 to 460 SOS reports)”. By contrast, reports from gambling service providers fell (-16.7 per cent) as did those from professionals (-2.8 per cent). In the latter category, the UIF also notes that “notaries and the National Council of Notaries continue to account for the largest share (4,883 SOS reports), although there was a slight decline compared with the previous year (-3.2 per cent)”. Reports submitted by public administration offices “remain at very low levels (247 SOS), down by 18.5 per cent compared with the 303 recorded in the corresponding period of 2025”.

At a regional level, reports are concentrated in the main metropolitan areas. The provinces of Milan, Rome and Naples account, in absolute terms, for almost a third of the national total. However, as the Financial Intelligence Unit also points out, when reports are considered in relation to the resident population, certain differences emerge: ‘In addition to Milan (375 SOS reports per 100,000 inhabitants) and Naples (256), particularly high figures are observed in the provinces of Prato (241), Trieste (219) and Reggio Emilia (211), confirming a significant level of reporting activity even in areas outside the major urban centres.”

The amounts reported total around 61 billion euros (of which almost 55 billion relate to completed transactions), an increase on the nearly 53 billion recorded in the first half of 2025. “This growth,” notes the UIF, “confirms the increase in the financial volumes intercepted by the active cooperation system.”