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Compliance
Already in 2009, by signing the Monetary Agreement with the European Union, the Vatican City State, with a view to the possibility of using the euro as the official currency of its territory, had undertaken to implement European monetary and financial regulations, in particular with regard to counterfeiting and money laundering.
In 2010, in fulfilment of his commitment, Benedict XVI issued a motu proprio which, for the first time, introduced a Vatican law on preventing and combating money laundering and terrorist financing and established a special Financial Regulatory and Supervisory Authority.
The entire process of bringing the State up to the standards of the international community is subject to periodic audits by Moneyval to ascertain the State’s progress in this regard.
In 2013, with a subsequent motu proprio and a new law on transparency, supervision and financial information, Pope Francis renewed the State’s commitment to continue on the path of compliance with international standards with increasingly effective regulatory instruments.
As the only Vatican institution authorised to carry out financial activities on a professional basis, the IOR from the start complied with the new Vatican regulations, which are aligned with international standards for preventing and combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
The IOR’s compliance with the standards is attested by the periodic audits performed by ASIF and Moneyval, is recognised by prestigious foreign tax authorities, by the banks participating in the SEPA circuit and by the numerous financial institutions with which it collaborates.
2009
By signing the Monetary Agreement between the European Union and the Vatican City State, the State undertook to adopt the appropriate legal instruments for financial regulation and the prevention and combating of money laundering, fraud and counterfeiting of means of payment
2010
Pope Benedict XVI issued the Motu Proprio of 30 December 2010 establishing the Financial Information Authority (AIF), now the Supervisory and Financial Information Authority (ASIF), i.e. the Vatican’s financial regulatory body, and introduced Vatican City State Law No. CXXVII on Preventing and Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing
2011
Moneyval carried out the first of a series of visits to the Vatican City State to assess the money laundering and terrorist financing prevention measures adopted by the Holy See/Vatican City State in implementation of the FATF 40 + IX Recommendations
2012
Moneyval published the 1st Moneyval Report on the progress made by the Holy See/Vatican City State in implementing the FATF 40 + IX Recommendations
2014
Pope Francis reaffirmed the centrality of IOR’s mission for the good of the Catholic Church, the Holy See and the Vatican City State and renewed its governing bodies to which he entrusted the task of bringing the Institute into line with the new Law XVIII and making it a modern and efficient financial institution, consistent with its mission and Catholic ethics
2015
IOR complied with ASIF Regulation No. 1 implementing Law XVIII/2013 and then continued over the years with subsequent ASIF Regulations, guidelines and circulars
IOR complied with FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) regulations as a result of the Agreement signed between the Holy See and the United States of America
2016
2021
IOR is recognised as a Qualified Intermediary (“QI”) by the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Moneyval positively assessed IOR’s AML/CTF controls with a rating of “substantial effectiveness”
2022
Rescriptum ex Audientia SS.MI of 23 August 2022 – It established that “the purpose of the IOR is to carry out exclusively the activity of administrator and custodian of the movable property of the Holy See and of the Institutions attached to it“
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HOW WE WORK
