Financial Crime World

Here is the converted article in Markdown format:

Estonia’s Financial Sanctions Regimes: A Comprehensive Overview

=============================

Estonia has a robust financial sanctions regime in place, aimed at combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The country’s supervisory authority, Finantsinspektsioon, plays a crucial role in issuing advisory guidelines to ensure compliance with international standards.

Finantsinspektsioon’s Advisory Guidelines

Finantsinspektsioon has the power to issue advisory guidelines to explain legislation regulating the financial sector and provide guidance to supervised entities. These guidelines are approved by the management board and published on the agency’s website. The “comply or explain” principle applies, requiring supervised entities to justify any deviations from the guidelines.

  • Recent examples of Finantsinspektsioon’s advisory guidelines include:
    • “Application of international financial sanctions in credit and financial institutions”
    • “Organisational solutions and preventive measures for credit and financial institutions to take against money laundering and terrorist financing”

EBA Guidelines Adopted as Advisory Guidelines

The European Banking Authority (EBA) issues guidelines to ensure the integrity, transparency, and orderly functioning of financial markets. Finantsinspektsioon adopts these guidelines as advisory guidelines, subjecting them to the “comply or explain” principle.

  • Examples of EBA guidelines adopted by Finantsinspektsioon include:
    • Guidelines on customer due diligence and ML/TF risk factors
    • Guidelines on policies and procedures in relation to compliance management
    • Guidelines on remote customer onboarding solutions

Estonian Legislation and EU Directives

Estonia has implemented several key pieces of legislation, including:

  • The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act
  • The International Sanctions Act
  • The Tax Information Exchange Act

The country has also transposed various EU directives into national law, including the 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive.

EU Restrictive Measures and Sanctions

Estonia implements restrictive measures and sanctions adopted by the European Union in accordance with its Common Foreign and Security Policy. These measures are aimed at countering terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

  • Key sources of EU restrictive measures include:
    • The United Nations Security Council Consolidated List
    • The EU Sanctions Map
    • OFAC’s list of persons subject to sanctions

In conclusion, Estonia has a comprehensive financial sanctions regime in place, comprising both national legislation and international standards. Finantsinspektsioon plays a crucial role in issuing advisory guidelines to ensure compliance with these regulations. The country’s implementation of EU restrictive measures and sanctions demonstrates its commitment to combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.