Prevenzione e repressione nel contrasto al riciclaggio. Un'indagine comparata tra Italia e Germania. Strafrechtliche und präventive Geldwäschebekämpfung. Eine vergleichende Analyse der italienischen und deutschen Rechtslage

The doctoral thesis provides a comparative study of the Italian and the German crime of money laundering. Although the topic of the essay is double, its final purpose concerns solely the Italian criminal provision (article 648-bis of the Italian Criminal code, art. 648-bis c.p.) in the attempt to thoroughly investigate its offensiveness, underlying legal interest and legitimation as well as to propose a restrictive interpretation. The first chapter defines the research topic and the comparative methodology which shall be used throughout the thesis. The comparison is hereby intended as a tool to not only describe, but also contextualize the German legislation and create a “dialogue” with the italian criminal provision. Also, the first chapter lays down the three fundamental questions upon whom the analysis will be built (“from where?”, “what?” and “who?”) and offers a conceptual framework of the crime of money laundering by enlightening the existing liaison between this criminal offence and the paradigm of crime-prevention; European and supranational law; and the activities of prosecution and intelligence. The second chapter delves into the question “from where?”, that is, the question of the role and the meaning of the predicate offence in money laundering’s prevention as well as repression. Therefore, the topic of the predicate crime is examined both from the angle of the anti-money laundering obligations for private actors and from the strictly penal angle. The question of the contribution of the predicate offence to money laundering’s offensiveness is specifically investigated with regard to both supranational and national law (including the most recent reforms that took place in Italy and Germany). The third chapter is dedicated to the question of “what” is money laundering. This topic is first of all addressed from a pre-normative point of view. To this end, the chapter begins with a survey of relevant criminological theories that have been developed in order to explain, on an empirical basis, the phenomenon of money laundering and its effects on economy and society. The chapter then moves on to the criminal law provisions by examining the shape and current interpretation of the national crimes of money laundering and interrogating their suitability in the light of the criminological suggestions. With a view to drawing some conclusions on the Italian crime of money laundering, the fourth and last chapter explores the question of “who” launders, meaning the possibility for the author of the predicate offence to be punished as self-launderer. In this context, self-laundering is examined as a form of both rationalization and extremization of the crime of money laundering. Lastly, the doctoral thesis summarizes its findings and proposes a restrictive interpretation of art. 648-bis c.p.