Banca d'Italia Slams Crypto Transfers with Sanctions Screening Requirement

Banca d'Italia is reminding Italian crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) to thoroughly screen every transfer for sanctions, regardless of its value. The central bank sent a communication on September 7, emphasizing that CASPs must verify their screening systems contain no minimum transaction threshold configured internally.

CASPs are required to check the originator and beneficiary information before executing individual crypto-asset transfers for customers consistently. This means that even small transactions cannot bypass sanctions controls by staying below an operator's screening limit.

The underlying obligations were set out in the European Banking Authority's (EBA) guidelines covering internal policies, procedures, and controls for implementing EU and national restrictive measures. Banca d'Italia formally incorporated the guidance through Note No. 52 on May 19, 2025, with the document stating that the guidelines became applicable on December 30, 2025.