Italy FIU Semi Annual Report 2025

Italy FIU Sees Surge in Suspicious Transaction Reports in H1 2025: Trends, Sources, and Key Figures

The Unità di Informazione Finanziaria per l’Italia (UIF) has released its semiannual statistics on Suspicious Transaction Reports (Segnalazioni di Operazioni Sospette – SOS) for the first half of 2025, showing a sharp increase in both the volume and value of reported transactions.

Sharp Rise in Reports

In the first six months of 2025, the UIF received 80,930 SOS, marking a 15.6% increase compared to the same period in 2024. During the same time, the unit analyzed and transmitted 81,312 reports to investigative authorities, reflecting a 16.4% rise. This makes it the highest number of SOS analyzed in a single semester since the reporting series began.

Who Is Reporting?

The increase in reporting stems from multiple sectors:

• Banks and Poste Italiane accounted for the majority of the rise, contributing 7,727 more reports than in H1 2024.
• Gaming and betting operators submitted 1,736 additional reports.
• Payment institutions and contact points of EU service providers saw an increase of 1,427 reports.
• Crypto-asset service providers nearly doubled their contribution, submitting 1,322 more reports than in the prior year.

Conversely, reporting from electronic money institutions (IMELs) and public administration offices fell by 995 and 449 reports, respectively.

Regional & Provincial Trends

The growth was particularly pronounced in Campania (up 15.6%) and in transactions linked to foreign operations, which nearly doubled. On a provincial level, Prato, Milan, Naples, Reggio Emilia, and Crotone recorded the highest report-to-population ratios.

Transaction Volumes and Types

The total value of reported transactions reached €53 billion, with over €50 billion linked to executed operations. This compares to €49.5 billion in H1 2024, marking a significant increase.

The bulk of these reports relate to:

• Domestic and international bank transfers (42.7%)
• Payment cards and electronic money (23.2%)
• Money transfers (17.8%)
• Crypto-asset operations (7.0%)
• Gaming activities (2.0%)

Money Transfer & Destination Countries

Money transfer operations saw a 30.4% rise in reported cases, reversing a downward trend observed since 2022. The primary destination countries for reported funds were Marocco (9.5%), Pakistan (8.4%), Georgia (7.8%), and Bangladesh (5.5%).

Reporting Timelines & UIF Follow-up

The median submission time across all entities fell to 27 days, improving from 30 days in 2024.
The UIF issued 2,945 information requests to obligated entities to clarify or supplement reports, with over 80% receiving responses within a week.

Preventive Measures

In the same period, 68 suspension requests were assessed, of which 8 were approved, blocking around €600,000 in suspicious transactions.

Shifts in Risk Ratings

Analysis of the SOS risk ratings revealed a slight decrease in high-risk reports, with 44.1% classified as high or medium-high risk, 36.7% as medium, and 19.3% as low or medium-low.

Conclusion

The first half of 2025 underscores a significant strengthening of Italy’s anti-money laundering (AML) detection framework. The surge in reports, particularly from banks, gaming operators, and crypto service providers, reflects heightened vigilance across sectors facing evolving financial crime risks. Meanwhile, the UIF’s expedited analysis and increased follow-up actions demonstrate a proactive stance in supporting law enforcement.

As money laundering channels diversify, particularly through cross-border transfers and digital assets, these insights reinforce the urgency of adaptive monitoring strategies for combating financial crime in Italy.