THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION AUTHORITY SIGNS A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH ITS GERMAN COUNTERPART

Vatican City, 4 December 2013 (VIS) – The Autorita di Informazione Finanziaria (AIF), the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Holy See and Vatican City State, signed today a Memorandum of Understanding with its German Counterpart, the Zentralstelle fur Verdachtsmeldungen at the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA).

The Memorandum was signed in the Vatican by Cardinal Attilio Nicora, president of the AIF, and Michael Dewald, director of the Zentralstelle fur Verdachtsmeldungen at the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA).

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is standard practice and formalises the co-operation and exchange of financial information to fight money laundering and terrorist financing across borders between the competent authorities of both countries. It is based on the model Memorandum of Understanding prepared by the Egmont Group, the global organisation of national Financial Intelligence Units, and contains clauses on reciprocity, permitted uses of information and confidentiality.

“This Memorandum is strengthening AIF's international reach and further integrates the Holy See and Vatican City State with a co-ordinated global effort to fight money laundering and the financing of terrorism”, said AIF director Rene Bruelhart. “Today's signing underlines our fruitful relationship and will further facilitate our joint efforts”.

The AIF became a member of the Egmont Group earlier in July this year and signed in the last months MOUs with the Financial Intelligence Units of the U.S.A., Belgium, Italy, Spain, Slovenia and the Netherlands. More are expected to be signed in the course of the coming months.

The AIF, established in 2010, is the competent authority of the Holy See / Vatican City State to fight money laundering and the financing of terrorism.