Showing the efficiency of these relationships, AIF in 2016 had 837 international information exchanges, 720 of which were requested by AIF itself, while 116 were requests made by its foreign counterparts – an increase on both fronts from previous years
Part of this increase, according to the AIF report, is due to the increase in foreign counterparts and the AIF's "preventive and proactive approach" at the international level. It is also due to the "sophisticated feature of cases under strategic and operational analysis," which involve various subjects and foreign jurisdictions.
In addition to an increase in international collaboration, 2016 saw a dip in the number of suspicious activity reports (SARs) filed compared to 2015.
For Bruelhart, the decrease is "no surprise, but a logical follow-up to the path we have been taking these years."
However, the report insisted that the number was still higher than in previous years, showing "an ever-increasing and effective implementation of reporting requirements by supervised entities," Di Ruzza said in the press release.
The report also showed an improvement in the quality of suspicious activity reports, with a positive impact in terms of their dissemination to the Vatican Promoter of Justice, "which is leading to domestic prosecution."
If a transaction is flagged and found to be problematic, it is sent to the office of the Promoter of Justice, currently Gian Piero Milano. In 2016, 22 reports were sent to the office, five of which had action taken against them: four of the transactions were suspended, totally over $2 million, while the account was frozen for the remaining one, worth over $1.5 million.
Asked about the fact that to date there has been no known public prosecution of persons found guilty of wrongdoing in the Vatican, Brülhart said he "cannot speak for the Promoter of Justice," but, without getting into detail, acknowledged that "there have been relevant developments in recent times."
He did explain, however, that the delay is likely due to several factors, including the fact that the system they put into place is still new, and lacks sufficient IT resources and qualified people who can develop the cases flagged by AIF before sending them to Milano's office.
Bureaucracy is also part of the equation, he said, explaining that after receiving a case, Milano must request information from international agencies, which frequently slows down the process.
Elise Harris was senior Rome correspondent for CNA from 2012 to 2018.