Sweden Cracks Down on Financial Crime with Tightened Anti-Money Laundering Controls

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Sweden’s reputation as a safe financial destination has been tarnished by recent criminal scandals, including a $200 million money laundering scheme at Swedbank and regulatory violations at Swedish gambling companies. In response, the country is strengthening its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) controls to protect its financial system.

Sweden’s Financial Regulator Takes the Lead

At the forefront of Sweden’s AML efforts is Finansinspektionen (FI), the country’s primary financial regulator. Established in 1991, FI is responsible for:

Examining the risks and control systems of financial institutions
Supervising compliance with statutes and regulations
Issuing guidance on compliance regulations to public and private entities

AML/CFT Legislation in Sweden

Sweden’s main AML/CFT legislation is the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act, which requires firms to implement a risk-based AML/CFT compliance program. Firms must:

Assess the risk that individual customers present
Deploy proportionate compliance measures
Monitor customers and transactions for suspicious activity
Report AML alerts to Sweden’s Financial Intelligence Unit

EU Anti-Money Laundering Directives Apply in Sweden

The EU’s Anti-Money Laundering Directives (AMLD) also apply in Sweden, with the latest directive, 6AMLD, coming into effect in June 2021. Key regulatory details include:

A harmonized list of money laundering predicate offenses
Increased minimum penalties for money laundering
An expanded definition of the crime to include aiding and abetting

Compliance Measures in Sweden

To comply with Sweden’s AML regulations, firms must implement measures such as:

Customer due diligence
Transaction screening
Sanctions and watchlist screening
Adverse media screening

Adverse media screening is particularly important, as it enables firms to react quickly to changes in a customer’s risk profile by screening for involvement in negative news media.

Government Pushes for EU-Wide AML/CFT Reforms

The Swedish government is also pushing for the EU to implement its most recent AML/CFT proposals, including:

A single AML/CFT Rulebook
A centralized Anti-Money Laundering Authority

Additionally, Sweden will implement the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which aims to manage the risks posed by unbacked crypto-assets and stablecoins.

Ripjar’s Labyrinth Screening Platform Supports Compliance in Sweden

In this changing landscape, financial institutions need to be able to respond quickly to new risks and regulatory requirements. Ripjar’s Labyrinth Screening platform provides a powerful compliance advantage, enabling searches of thousands of structured and unstructured data sources and generating real-time financial intelligence.