Financial Crime World

Financial Institutions Face Compliance Challenges in Norway Amid Increased Focus on Combatting Financial Crime

Norway’s status as one of the wealthiest economies in the world has made it a target for financial criminals seeking to exploit its financial system. Recent high-profile cases have highlighted the need for financial institutions operating in Norway to be familiar with the country’s anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) regulatory requirements.

The Role of Finanstilsynet

The Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway, known as Finanstilsynet, is the primary AML regulator responsible for ensuring that financial institutions comply with the country’s anti-money laundering legislation. The authority has fined several major financial institutions in recent years for non-compliance, including DNB ASA, which was slapped with a record-breaking NOK 400 million fine in 2020.

Licensing and Compliance

To operate in Norway, financial institutions must demonstrate competency and obtain a licence from Finanstilsynet. The regulator works closely with other national supervisory authorities across the European Economic Area (EEA) and international regulatory bodies to combat money laundering globally.

Norway’s AML/CFT Law

Norway’s AML/CFT law is the Act Relating to Measures to Combat Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, also known as the Anti-Money Laundering Act. The law imposes risk-based record-keeping and reporting regulations on financial institutions, including:

  • Customer Due Diligence: Financial institutions must conduct customer due diligence and ongoing monitoring of customer financial activity.
  • Risk Assessments: Institutions must establish customer risk profiles and deploy a proportionate compliance response based on the level of risk.
  • Transaction Screening: Institutions must screen transactions for signs of money laundering.
  • Sanctions and Watchlist Screening: Institutions must screen customers against sanctions and watchlists.

Effective Adverse Media Screening

To comply with Norway’s AML regulations, financial institutions should:

  • Conduct risk assessments to establish customer risk profiles
  • Deploy a proportionate compliance response based on the level of risk
  • Screen customers against adverse media sources on an ongoing basis to identify potential criminal risks
  • Integrate software with multi-language search capabilities to capture a vast amount of risk data in real-time

Staying Ahead of Compliance Obligations

To stay ahead of compliance obligations in Norway and beyond, financial institutions should implement a screening solution capable of:

  • Capturing a vast amount of risk data while minimizing false positive alerts
  • Providing real-time searches of thousands of global media sources, including news articles and sanctions and watchlists, in over 20 languages

Ripjar’s Labyrinth Screening Platform

Ripjar’s Labyrinth Screening platform is designed to meet AML compliance challenges in jurisdictions around the world. With its advanced screening technology, financial institutions can:

  • Stay up-to-date with the latest compliance requirements
  • Minimize the risk of money laundering and other financial crimes

Conclusion

In conclusion, Norway’s AML regulations are evolving to match the demands of the global risk landscape. Financial institutions operating in the country must stay up-to-date with the latest compliance requirements by implementing a comprehensive AML compliance program that incorporates next-generation screening technology.