ASIF annual report: money laundering risk decreases and IOR supervision improves

The Holy See today made public the Annual Report 2025 of the Authority for Supervision and Financial Information (ASIF), a body created by Benedict XVI in 2010, which was restructured by Pope Francis in 2020 and which operates with full autonomy and independence to regulate and supervise the Vatican's financial activity.

Detection and blocking of suspicious activities

In the report for the year 2025, ASIF highlights the increase in Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) from 43 to 78 in one year, which it explains as a consequence of greater efficiency in the internal control systems of the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR) and constant monitoring of services to users. 

The report highlights how the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, in addition to the humanitarian crises in Tibet, Myanmar, Afghanistan and the Philippines influenced the transactions and the Vatican's financial exercise. In this regard, the report notes, for example, an increase in transactions and movements related to Myanmar (73) “carried out by legal entities closely linked to the Catholic Church and accounts held at the IOR” and that the ASIF explains “justifiable in light of the worsening, during 2025, of the humanitarian crisis plaguing the country, to which the serious seismic phenomena recorded in the area in the first months of the year contributed”. 

16 suspicious transaction reports

Likewise, during this fiscal year, suspicions of money laundering led this Authority to stop 3 transactions worth €522,000 and 16 reports were sent to the Promoter of Justice for possible judicial investigations. According to the Annual Report, these 16 reports correspond to the fact that the transactions analyzed contain ”reasonable grounds for suspicion of money laundering, terrorist financing or financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction”. 

More but fewer movements

During the year 2025, ASIF recorded 196 incoming declarations, for a total amount of €13,627,157. In the same period, 328 outgoing declarations were recorded, for a total amount of €5,143,625. The report highlights that “A comparison with previous years shows, as far as incoming flows are concerned, an increase in the number of declarations together with a decrease in the total amount declared. Also in 2025 it is confirmed that most of the incoming cash flows are attributable to the operations of the State's public administrations”.

Improvement in money laundering risk

One of the most notable data in this report is the degree of risk presented by the Vatican financial system in relation to money laundering, which is rated as medium/low, while the danger of terrorist financing presents a low risk for the ASIF.

The state of the IOR

As part of ASIF's prudential supervision, ASIF examined the IOR's liquidity, capital requirements and sustainability, including thematic reviews of its financial division and FATCA compliance. The report highlights that “the operational aspects analyzed were numerous and covered areas relevant to assessing the sound and prudent management of the IOR. 

This year, the ASIF also conducted two on-site inspections at the IOR to assess its customer management and terrorist financing risks linked to higher risk jurisdictions.

Increased cooperation with international partners and updated training

Finally, the annual report highlights a boost in ASIF's cooperation with neighboring and foreign entities. On this point, the report notes an increased volume of communications “with its main national counterparts, especially in terms of cooperation requests received. In fact, 43 incoming communications were recorded, compared to 26 received the previous year, and 51 outgoing communications, up from 39 in 2024.”.

In addition, ASIF has received 15 communications from its foreign counterparts, which confirms “the operational importance of intensifying cooperation with foreign counterparts”. 

Internally, 94 communications were recorded with internal partners, especially with the Gendarmerie Corps and the Secretariat for the Economy, the latter in relation to the authorization of extraordinary administrative acts”.

Training also played a key role in this year's exercise, in which, according to the report, specialized training was offered to IOR staff and to the Office of the Auditor General, covering the Vatican Criminal Code and the new international AML standards.