ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: Alessandro Pistochini, Luca Moglia, Giovanni Bellissimo and Giulia Barattini, Pistochini Avvocati Studio Legale
The Public Prosecutor, either directly or through the judicial police, may compel the production of corpo - rate documents, including sensitive or secret ones, if the evidentiary relevance is proven and the secrecy claims are unfounded (Article 256 ICCP). With legal prerequisites, the prosecutor may, by rea - soned decree, order searches and seizures of corpo - rate or private premises, including forensic imaging, subject to judicial oversight (Article 247 ff. CCP). Interrogations of executives, employees, or third par - ties may occur as witnesses or suspects. Witnesses must testify unless they risk incriminating themselves, while suspects have the right to remain silent and to consult counsel. Seizure of digital devices is a highly intrusive meas - ure. Currently, a legislative reform (Bill No C.1822) is pending, aiming to amend the ICCP to better balance investigative needs with fundamental rights. Due to the use of digital assets in economic crimes, some prosecutors have traced, frozen, and seized cryptocurrencies and virtual instruments as criminal proceeds or tools; however, some Supreme Court rul - ings have reversed orders due to legal classification issues. 2.4 Use of Technology in Investigations In Italy, judicial police may employ atypical investiga - tive tools, including AI and advanced digital technolo - gies, provided their use pursues legitimate procedural aims and respects fundamental rights. For some time now, investigations have utilised so- called Trojan malware: surreptitiously implanted into devices, it enables remote data extraction or ambi - ent interception. Decree-Law No 161/2020 regulates its use for proceedings after 31 August 2020: judi - cial authorisation for the use of such a tool must be reasoned, establishing the existence of serious indi - cations, the indispensability of the measure and its temporal and spatial limitations. Regarding the use of blockchain-based investiga - tive techniques and crypto-assets, Bank of Italy’s Occasional Paper No 893 links decentralised finance
to money laundering and terrorist financing risks. It concludes that the technological architecture under - pinning decentralised systems lacks the capacity to replace the active role of financial intermediaries in AML compliance, given the public visibility of smart contract code. As for the general legal framework, Italy follows Regu - lation (EU) 2024/1689 on AI, especially high-risk sys - tems. On 17 September 2025, a national AI law was enacted, introducing immediately applicable provisions. AgID, ACN, and financial regulators (Bank of Italy, CONSOB, IVASS) were designated as competent authorities under Article 74 (6) EU Regulation. No specific laws regulate the use of AI in white-collar crime investigations; however, digital forensics, big data, and financial monitoring are commonly used. All practices must comply with constitutional princi - ples, legality, privacy rights, GDPR, and national data protection regulations. 2.5 Internal Investigations In Italy, internal investigations are not generally man - datory; nonetheless, they can be crucial for corporate self-protection by identifying perpetrators and demon - strating governance and prompt response, thus aiding co-operation with authorities and possibly mitigating liability under Articles 6 and 7 of Legislative Decree 231/2001. When conducted properly, inquiries that respect the Code of Criminal Procedure and data protection laws – such as independent audits and thorough documen - tary collections – are preferred by prosecutors and courts. Furthermore, financial institutions and intermediaries, under Legislative Decrees 231/2007 and 231/2001, are required to perform internal controls and investiga - tions on suspicious transactions and to adopt organi - sational models to prevent offences, including money laundering. In any event, private companies have no obligation to report internal findings to the authorities. In con -
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