Financial Crime World

Anti-Money Laundering Regulations for Small Businesses in Denmark

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Denmark’s small businesses are facing new guidelines to prevent financial crimes through effective Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations.

New Guidelines for Banks

Banks are required to know their customers, gathering information on expected business volume and monitoring all transactions, including:

  • Deposits
  • Withdrawals
  • International transfers

If any transaction appears suspicious or deviates from a customer’s normal pattern, the bank will make further enquiries and report it to the Danish Money Laundering Secretariat. In 2017 alone, banks filed over 18,000 reports, a 38% increase from the previous year.

Results of Enhanced Regulation

The Danish Tax Agency has referred several of these reports for investigation, recovering approximately DKK 100m in extra tax revenues. Banks also make regular data deliveries to the agency, containing key information to combat tax evasion.

Investment in IT Surveillance Systems

To prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, banks invest heavily in new IT surveillance systems, screening millions of transactions daily.

Collaboration between Industry and Authorities

The industry is committed to intensifying collaboration with authorities, including:

  • The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority
  • The Tax Agency
  • The Security and Intelligence Service

Finance Denmark has established an anti-money laundering task force to facilitate knowledge-sharing on legislation and best practices. A forum is also set up for regular meetings between banks and authorities to discuss effective methods.

Ensuring Compliance

To ensure compliance, banks have:

  • Appointed Money Laundering Reporting Officers
  • Launched training programs for staff
  • Conducted continuous risk assessments with risk management policies and procedures in place to minimize the risk of being misused for financial crimes

Promoting Effective Legislation and Regulation

Finance Denmark maintains close dialogue with politicians and ministries to promote effective legislation and regulation while supporting economic growth and employment. With these new guidelines, small businesses in Denmark will play an essential role in preventing money laundering and terrorist financing.