TheSupervisory and Financial Information Authority (Autorità di Supervisione e Informazione Finanziaria, or ASIF) is the central institution in theHoly See andVatican City State that is responsible for the prevention and countering of money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (AML/CFT/CPT). It is the central authority for supervision and regulation in these matters,[1] both in relation to the obliged entities (i.e. the entities who, due to the activities they carry out, are subject to the obligations set out in the AML/CFT/CPT legislation) and the reporting entities (i.e. entities who, under Vatican law, are required to report suspicious activities). With regard to obliged entities, there is only one such entity in the jurisdiction – theIstituto per le Opere di Religione – while the reporting entities consist of every legal entity with a registered office in theVatican City State and all the Institutions of the Roman Curia. The Authority also contains the jurisdiction's financial intelligence unit, which is responsible for acquiring and analyzing the suspicious activity reports submitted by reporting entities, making use of internal and international collaboration[2] (the Authority is a member of theEgmont Group[3]). Furthermore, ASIF is also the central authority for the supervision and prudential regulation of entities that professionally carry out financial activities[4] (to date, exclusively theIstituto per le Opere di Religione).
The AIF has its seat inPalazzo San Carlo,Vatican City, close toDomus Sanctae Marthae.
The 2024 annual report was released at the Vatican April 9. It was reported that The Supervisory and Financial Information Authority (ASIF), received 79 suspicious activity reports in 2024 and transmitted 11 reports to the Office of the Promoter of Justice.[5]
The Authority, originally named the Financial Information Authority (Autorità di Informazione Finanziaria, or AIF), was established byPope Benedict XVI on 30 December 2010 with the Apostolic Letter issuedMotu Proprio“ for the prevention and countering of illegal activities in the area of monetary and financial dealings”.[6] In August 2013, the Authority was given the mandate byPope Francis to also carry out prudential supervision.[7] The powers of the Authority were confirmed by Pope Francis on 15 November 2013 through an Apostolic Letter issuedMotu Proprio, with which a new Statute was approved[3]. On 5 December 2020, Pope Francis approved[8] an updated version of the Statute, by virtue of which the Authority took on its current name and a new organizational structure, one that is more responsive to its operational and institutional needs.[9] However, the skills and functions remained unchanged, as also reiterated in Article 248 of the Apostolic Constitution “Praedicate Evangelium” of 19 March 2022.[10] In accordance with the current Statute, ASIF is made up of three bodies (the President, the Board and the Directorate)[11] and is divided into three Units (the Supervisory Unit, the Regulatory and Legal Affairs Unit and the Financial Intelligence Unit).[12]
The board members, appointed for five years, as of 2019[update] were:
The Director:
