ITALY Trends and Developments Contributed by: Francesco Isolabella, Luigi Isolabella and Enrico Maria Canzi, Studio Isolabella
• Involvement of professionals facilitating circumven - tion of the relevant offences. • Triangulation of funds through payment service providers in countries that do not apply similar sanctions regimes. • Triangulation of crypto-assets and payment flows through correspondent accounts and virtual IBANs (vIBANs). • Use of VPNs to conceal the location of the persons involved. • Fundraising by non-profit organisations or digi - tal platforms intended for conflict areas, where it entails violations of restrictive measures. • Import/export of luxury goods, petroleum products, steel products, high-technology machinery or dual- use goods, often through recurring facilitators. Finally, the UIF invites recipients to carry out a concrete and comprehensive analysis of the activity, ensuring full sharing of information among obliged entities (Article 39 of Legislative Decree No. 231/2007). On an experimental basis, a new code called “VO1–activ - ity connected with the violation of Union restrictive measures” has also been made available for classify - ing STRs connected with violations of EU restrictive measures.
The content of the UIF communication is therefore a significant confirmation that, for financial interme - diaries, the anti-money laundering safeguards that characterise the activities of entities subject to the sector-specific rules may, if properly adapted, consti - tute a first and important defence against the risk of committing the offences referred to in Articles 275-bis to 275-decies of the Italian Criminal Code. In conclusion, the introduction of offences relating to the violation of European Union restrictive measures, including within the scope of Legislative Decree No. 231/2001, requires entities to carry out a concrete and substantive reassessment of their organisational safe - guards, especially in processes involving relationships with foreign counterparties, suppliers, intermediaries, customers, subcontractors or persons operating in high-risk countries.
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