Laundering is defined as the concealment of sources of income (money, goods and other utilities) arising from criminal activities in legal activities, through operations aimed at hindering the reconstruction of the flow of assets, making it difficult to tie it to the relevant offence.
Attorney Alexandro Maria Tirelli, Coordinator of ILA, has highlighted, both in the courtrooms and in instructive written material, with what degree of superficiality investigating authorities tend to accuse innocent citizens for that crime; and with what senseless simplicity they come to issue very serious repossession measures, affecting the assets of honest citizens and companies, and wiping out entire families, without a qualm and without a well-founded financial analysis.
Self-laundering
Law n. 186 of 2014 also introduced the crime of “self-laundering” within the Italian judicial system. This occurs when a person who has obtained illegal revenues carries out laundering him/herself.
The penalty for the offense is imprisonment from 2 to 8 years and a fine of Euro 5,000 to 25,000 to anyone who, having committed or participated in committing an intentional crime, employs, replaces, moves money, goods or other benefits in financial, entrepreneurial or speculative activities and hides the identification of their illegal origins.
Laundering and terrorism financing
The gimmicks of the verifications on the financing of terrorism has brought about monetary, financial and non-financial laundering.
In this way, institutional private intermediaries (banks, investment companies, ect.) were called to collaborate actively in the process of identifying the actions of terrorist financing, allowing the financial police to constantly receive and gather information regarding laundering.
In this regard, the Financial Intelligence Unit for Italy (FIU), which represents the main anti-money laundering authority established by Legislative Decree dated November 21, 2007, on the basis of all the information they gather and have, carries out strategic analysis aimed at identifying and evaluating laundering activities.
International Lawyers Associates carries out counter-analysis activities, together with its client, of the investigation activities made against him/her and provides a great team of financial experts, to plan out the best strategy in the criminal proceedings and, if necessary, also by filing processed expert accounting reports to dismiss all the allegations.
International Lawyers Associates not only deals with criminal defense, where a formal accusation has already been made by the Judicial Authorities to an individual. Our team of legal and tax experts also provide corporate consulting – for company CEOs and corporate executives – as precautionary measures. These precautionary measures are essential especially in a Country like Italy, characterized by endemic forms of crime, high levels of corruption and tax evasion.