ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: Alessandro Pistochini, Luca Moglia, Giovanni Bellissimo and Giulia Barattini, Pistochini Avvocati Studio Legale
• Self-Laundering ( autoriciclaggio ) (Article 648-ter 1 ICC): This offence punishes the conduct of anyone who, having committed or participated in the com - mission of the predicate offence, employs, substi - tutes, or transfers money, assets, or other benefits derived from that offence into economic, financial, entrepreneurial, or speculative activities, in a way that concretely hinders the identification of their illicit origin. If the laundered property derives from a felony, the penalty is imprisonment from two to eight years and a fine of EUR5,000 to EUR25,000. The primary legislation on anti-money laundering is Legislative Decree No 231/2007, which imposes a number of significant prevention obligations on cer - tain categories of entities (eg, financial intermediaries, professionals, etc). From a criminal law perspective, the key provision is Article 55 of Legislative Decree No 231/2007, which includes several criminal offences. For example, it punishes the conduct of anyone who, being obliged to comply with the customer due diligence requirements under the Decree, falsifies data and information relat - ing to the client, the beneficial owner, the executor, the purpose and nature of the ongoing relationship or professional service, and the transaction, or uses false data and information. The applicable penalty is imprisonment from six months to three years and a fine ranging from EUR10,000 to EUR30,000. The authorities competent to enforce anti-money laundering regulation, and therefore empowered to impose sanctions in case of violations, are the criminal courts (with regard to offences) and the Bank of Italy and CONSOB (with regard to administrative sanc - tions). 3.14 ESG-Related Offences Environmental offences are set out in both the ICC and the Codice dell’Ambiente (Legislative Decree 152/2006). The ICC punishes conduct that causes serious harm to air, soil, water or ecosystems. Caus - ing environmental pollution can lead to imprisonment for two to six years and a fine of up to EUR100,000, while creating an environmental disaster – that is, irreversible or very extensive damage – can result in a sentence of five to fifteen years in prison. The
Codice dell’Ambiente contains more specific rules on waste and emissions: carrying out waste management without the required authorisations, organising illegal waste trafficking, or discharging pollutants into rivers or the atmosphere are all criminal offences, punish - able with sanctions that range from a few months to several years of imprisonment, depending on how dangerous the conduct is. On the social and governance side, the ICC sanc - tions slavery, trafficking in persons and forced labour (Article 601) with terms of imprisonment from eight to twenty years, while Article 603-bis punishes labour exploitation through unlawful recruitment ( caporala- to ) with one to six years of imprisonment, increased where violence, threats or minors are involved. The most serious ESG violations, such as environmen - tal pollution, environmental disaster, human trafficking and slavery, are not only prosecuted as crimes against individuals or the environment but also fall within the scope of Legislative Decree 231/2001, thereby engag - ing the direct liability of companies that benefit from them. 3.15 Artificial Intelligence and Automation Misuse In Italy, there are currently no criminal offences specifi - cally targeting the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI), algorithmic trading, or automated decision-making in financial or commercial contexts. Nevertheless, existing provisions may apply. For example, the use of AI to manipulate financial markets or mislead investors may fall under fraud (Articles 640 et seq of the ICC) or market manipulation as regulated by Legislative Decree No 58/1998 (Consolidated Law on Finance). On 17 September 2025, the Senato della Repubblica approved Bill No 1146/2025 on artificial intelligence, previously passed by the Camera dei Deputati on 25 June 2025. The law introduces several criminal provi - sions on AI, including a delegation to the Government to create new offences and aggravating circumstanc - es in the ICC.
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