The Supervisory and Financial Information Authority’s latest annual report, published April 30, detailed 78 reports of suspicious activities in 2025, 73 of which came from the Institute for the Works of Religion, or IOR, the only financial institution under its direct supervision.
Although the watchdog announced last year that it received 79 suspicious activity reports in 2024, the new report revised the 2024 figure downward to 43. It is not unusual for annual compliance reports to make retrospective adjustments of figures.
The supervisory authority, known by its Italian acronym ASIF, attributed the rise in suspicious activity reports in 2025 partly to improved procedures at the IOR, following a “targeted inspection of reporting activities.”
It also cited “activities related to the extraordinary events affecting the Catholic Church and the Holy See in 2025,” possibly linked to the Jubilee Year and papal transition.
ASIF argued that the overall quality of the reports remained high, as a stable proportion of around 20% were sent on to the Vatican City State’s Office of the Promoter of Justice. In 2025, 16 reports were forwarded to the office, up from 11 the year before.
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