The
Guardia di Finanza is an
ItalianItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
police force under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance. As it retains military status, like the
CarabinieriThe Arma dei Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both the military and civilian populations. The Carabinieri is now a branch of the armed forces , thus ending their long standing role as the first corps of the Italian army.-Early history:The corps was created by King Victor...
, it is part of the
Italian Armed ForcesThe Italian armed forces are under the command of the Italian Supreme Defense Council, presided over by the President of the Italian Republic. The total number of military personnel is approximately 308,000...
. The Guardia di Finanza maintains over 600 boats and ships and more than 100 aircraft to fulfill its mission of patrolling Italy's
territorial watersTerritorial waters, or a territorial sea, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is a belt of coastal waters extending at most twelve nautical miles from the baseline of a coastal state...
.
The mission and institutional tasks of
Guardia di Finanza are stated in the law 189 of April 23, 1959 and 68/2001 and are subdivided into priority ones (preventing, investigating and reporting financial evasions and violations, overseeing the compliance with the provisions of politico-economic interest and surveillance at sea for financial police purposes) and contribution ones (maintaining public order and safety and politico-military defense of the borders).
The Guardia di Finanza has around 68,000 policeman (agents,
NCONon-commissioned officer , abbreviated to NCO or Non-com , is a term in many armed forces indicating leadership ranks less senior than commissioned officers...
s, and
officersAn officer is a member of an armed force who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
).
The
Guardia di Finanza is an
ItalianItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
police force under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance. As it retains military status, like the
CarabinieriThe Arma dei Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both the military and civilian populations. The Carabinieri is now a branch of the armed forces , thus ending their long standing role as the first corps of the Italian army.-Early history:The corps was created by King Victor...
, it is part of the
Italian Armed ForcesThe Italian armed forces are under the command of the Italian Supreme Defense Council, presided over by the President of the Italian Republic. The total number of military personnel is approximately 308,000...
. The Guardia di Finanza maintains over 600 boats and ships and more than 100 aircraft to fulfill its mission of patrolling Italy's
territorial watersTerritorial waters, or a territorial sea, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is a belt of coastal waters extending at most twelve nautical miles from the baseline of a coastal state...
.
Roles
The mission and institutional tasks of
Guardia di Finanza are stated in the law 189 of April 23, 1959 and 68/2001 and are subdivided into priority ones (preventing, investigating and reporting financial evasions and violations, overseeing the compliance with the provisions of politico-economic interest and surveillance at sea for financial police purposes) and contribution ones (maintaining public order and safety and politico-military defense of the borders).
The Guardia di Finanza has around 68,000 policeman (agents,
NCONon-commissioned officer , abbreviated to NCO or Non-com , is a term in many armed forces indicating leadership ranks less senior than commissioned officers...
s, and
officersAn officer is a member of an armed force who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
). Her policemen are in service in the
EuropolEuropol is the European Union's criminal intelligence agency. It became fully operational on 1 July 1999....
and
OLAFThe European Anti-Fraud Office is charged by the European Union with protecting the financial interests of the European Union: Its tasks are to fight fraud affecting the EU-budget, as well as corruption and any other irregular activity, including misconduct, within the European...
(European Agency of Fight against the Fraud).
Its Latin motto since 1933 is
Nec recisa recedit .
Its activities are financial, economic, judiciary and public safety: tax evasion, financial crimes,
smugglingSmuggling, also known as trafficking, is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons past a point where prohibited, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
,
money launderingMoney laundering is the process of creating the appearance that large amounts of money obtained from serious crimes, such as drug trafficking or terrorist activity, originated from a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions with varying definitions...
, international illegal drug trafficking,
illegal immigrationIllegal immigration is immigration across national borders in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destination country. Illegal immigrants are also known as illegal aliens to differentiate them from legal aliens...
,
customsCustoms is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country. Depending on local legislation and regulations, the import or export of...
and borders checks, copyright violations, anti-
MafiaThe Mafia is a Sicilian criminal society which is believed to have emerged in late 19th century Sicily, and the first such society to be referred to as a mafia . It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct...
operations,
credit card fraudCredit card fraud is a wide-ranging term for theft and fraud committed using a credit card or any similar payment mechanism as a fraudulent source of funds in a transaction. The purpose may be to obtain goods without paying, or to obtain unauthorized funds from an account. Credit card fraud is also...
,
cybercrimeCyberCrime was an innovative, weekly America television program on TechTV that focused on the dangers facing computer users. Filmed in San Francisco, California, the show was hosted by Alex Wellen and Jennifer London...
, counterfeiting,
terrorist financingTerrorist financing came into limelight after the events of terrorism on 9/11. The US passed the USA PATRIOT Act, among other reasons, to ensure that both combating the financing of terrorism and anti-money laundering was given adequate focus by US financial institutions...
, maintaining public order, and safety, political and military defense of the Italian borders.
"Customs Guards Corps"
The origins of the Guardia di Finanza date back to October 5, 1774, when the “Light Troops Legion” was set up under the King of Sardinia, Victor Amadeus III. This was the first example in Italy of a special corps established and organized for financial surveillance duties along the borders, as well as for military defense.
Once the unification of Italy was completed in 1862, the "Customs Guards Corps" was set up. Its main task was Customs surveillance and co-participation in the Country’s defense during war time. By Law no. 141 dated April 8, 1881, the Customs Guards Corps became the "Royal Guardia di Finanza Corps" whose task was to "impede, suppress and report
smugglingSmuggling, also known as trafficking, is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons past a point where prohibited, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
activities and any other violation and transgression of financial laws and regulations", and to safeguard the interests of the tax administration, as well as to co-participate in enforcing law and order and public security.
The 5-point star uniform
By Royal Decree dated July 14 1907, the Corps was issued 5-point star uniforms to mark its military status, even though the Army’s military discipline regulation was extended to the Guardia di Finanza by Law dated July 12 1908. The Corps served in the two World Wars and in the War of National Liberation, deserving 18 awards to its War Flag, which had been granted in 1914 to decree the total integration among the Italian Armed Forces.
Subsequently, the Corps took part in numerous rescue operations during serious natural disasters; for this commitment the Corps was decorated with 13 additional civil valor awards.
The re-organization of the police forces in 1919 also affected the Royal Guardia di Finanza. The responsibilities were divided between the Inspector General, who was an Army Officer with the rank of
Lieutenant GeneralLieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
responsible for military preparation, and the Commanding
GeneralA general officer is an officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is simply called general.-All general officer...
, who was a Guardia di Finanza Officer subordinate to the former, but authorized to maintain direct relations with the Minister for ordinary institutional duties and for personnel management. In 1923, the "Investigative Tax Police" was set up as a specialized branch of the Royal Guardia di Finanza. Within a few years, its naval fleet, motor-vehicles and telecommunication structure underwent a complete change; the Statistical Service equipped with a data processing centre, the Air Service and the Canine Service (for anti-drugs checks) were set up. During the same years, the Corps’ general organization was defined pursuant to Law no. 189 dated April 23 1959, which laid down its institutional tasks,subsequently amended by specific sector provisions assigning certain responsibilities.
Recent history
Besides the review of its organizational structure, laid out by the issuance of Presidential Decree Law no. 34 dated January 29 1999, the updating of the Corps’ institutional tasks was completed. Law Decree no. 68, dated March 19 2001, whilst confirming the Corps’ configuration as a military structure, enhanced its role as a police force having general competence on all economic, financial and judicial matters for the safeguard of the public budget and that of the regions, of the local authorities and of the
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
.
The Guardia di Finanza Historical Museum is custodian of the traditions of the Corps. It preserves artifacts of relevance to the Guardia di Finanza and promotes historical research, to aid researchers, scholars and military history enthusiasts.
Anti-drug operations
From the statistic data of the anti-drug service central Direction, of the Department of the Interior,the 60% of the drug seized in Italy by all the strengths of law enforcement is found by the Guardia di Finanza.
In detail around 77% of the total one of the sequestrations of heroin, 69% of cocaine and 54% of hashish and marijuana in 2005.
The Chiasso financial smuggling case
On June 3, 2009 near Chiasso, Switzerland (near the Swiss/Italian border), officers of the Corps detained two Japanese nationals in their 50s who had attempted to enter Switzerland and had in their possession a suitcase with a false bottom containing U.S. Treasury Bonds worth $134.5 billion.
While assessment as to the authenticity of the bonds is on-going, if the bonds prove to be genuine, the Corps will have intervened in the largest single act of
smugglingSmuggling, also known as trafficking, is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons past a point where prohibited, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
(with respect to financial value) in recorded history.
Special departments
- Gruppo di Investigazione Criminalità Organizzata
Gruppo di investigazione criminalità organizzata also knew with the acronym GICO, is a specialized department of the Italian Guardia di Finanza, a Special Police force that combats international drugs trafficking, smuggling, money laundering, terrorist financing, financial crimes and illegal...
(GICO): Organized Crime Investigation Group.
- Gruppo Operativo Antidroga (GOA): Counter-narcotics Group
- Gruppo Anticrimine Tecnologico (GAT): Counter-cybercrime Group
- Commando Operativo Aeronavale (ROAN): Air-Naval Operational Command
- AntiTerrorismo Pronto Impiego
The AntiTerrorismo Pronto Impiego, formed in 1983, is a special police unit of the Guardia di Finanza dealing with Anti-Terrorism in Italy. The unit took part in counterterrorism operations and VIP protection details in Italy. This unit has done operations in Albania, Kosovo and Hungary....
(ATPI): Antiterrorism and Rapid Response Service
- Servizio Cinofili: Police Dog Division (K9).
Cars
- Alfa Romeo 155
The Alfa Romeo 155 is a compact executive car produced under the Italian Alfa Romeo marque between 1992 and 1998.-Design:Built to replace the 75 and based on the parent Fiat Group's Tipo platform, the 155 was somewhat larger in dimension than the 75 but evolved its styling from that of its...
- Alfa Romeo 156
The Alfa Romeo 156 is a compact executive car introduced by Italian automaker Alfa Romeo at the 1997 Frankfurt Motor Show as the replacement for the Alfa Romeo 155...
- Alfa Romeo 159
The Alfa Romeo 159 is a compact executive car produced by the Italian manufacturer Alfa Romeo since 2005. The 159 was introduced in production form at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show as a replacement for the successful Alfa Romeo 156...
- Fiat Bravo
- Fiat Stilo
The Fiat Stilo is a small family car available as a 3-door and a 5-door hatchback, as well as an estate , produced by the Italian automaker Fiat Automobiles. The Stilo 3-door and 5-door were launched in 2001 to replace the Fiat Bravo/Brava, with the Stilo MultiWagon following in 2002...
1.9 JTD
- Land Rover Freelander
The Land Rover Freelander is a compact crossover SUV or "lifestyle 4WD" made by the British company Land Rover; a subsidiary of Tata Motors. The current generation is sold as the LR2 in North America, as opposed to Freelander 2 in Europe...
Helicopters
- Agusta A109
The AgustaWestland AW109 is a helicopter manufactured by Agusta of Italy. It is a light-weight, twin engine, eight seat multi-purpose helicopter. The AgustaWestland AW119 Koala is a single-engine development....
- Agusta-Bell AB 412
The Bell 412 is a utility helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a further development of the Bell 212 model, the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor.-Design and development:...
- Nardi Hughes NH-500
The MD Helicopters MD 500 series is an American family of light utility civilian and military helicopters. The MD 500 was developed from the Hughes 500, a civilian version of the US Army's OH-6A Cayuse/Loach...
Weapons
- Pistols: Beretta 92
The Beretta 92 is a series of semi-automatic pistols designed and manufactured by Beretta of Italy. The model 92 was designed in 1972 and production of many variants in different calibers continues today...
, and Beretta 84 BB
- Submachine gun: Beretta PM 12 S2
- Assault rifle: Beretta SC70/90
The Beretta AR70/90 is a gas operated self loading assault rifle chambered for the 5.56mm cartridge, and is the standard issue service rifle of the Italian Armed Forces. The weapon also features grenade sights, and is designed to be fitted with a rifle grenade...
External links