Financial Crime World

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Swedish Regime’s Fight Against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing: Assessment Highlights Challenges and Progress

A new national risk assessment has been released by Sweden’s coordination function, highlighting both progress and challenges in the country’s efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

Successes and Challenges

According to the report, Sweden’s anti-money laundering regime is generally successful, with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) confirming its effectiveness. However, several challenges remain, including:

  • Systemic risks: strawmen, population registration, and exploited identities are all areas of concern.
  • Information dissemination: there are shortfalls in the dissemination, access, and production of information and knowledge within the Swedish regime.
  • Legal basis and resources: certain areas lack adequate legal basis and resources.

Combating Terrorist Financing

Terrorist financing is considered a serious societal problem, with even small amounts of money able to fund significant terrorist activities. The report notes that Sweden’s efforts to combat terrorism are ongoing, with cooperation between:

  • International organizations
  • EU member states
  • Neighboring countries in the Nordic region

Coordination Function and Risk Assessment

The coordination function, headed by the Swedish Police Authority since 2018, consists of 16 agencies and the Swedish Bar Association. The risk assessment is a joint effort among these members, aimed at identifying and assessing risks in sectors defined under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

Regulatory Framework

Sweden’s efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing are based on two sets of regulations:

  • Administrative regulations: aim to prevent and counteract exploitation of financial activities for money laundering and terrorist financing.
  • Penal regulations: prosecute individuals who engage in these activities.

Conclusion

The assessment concludes by highlighting the importance of a risk-based approach to achieve an effective and resource-efficient regime against money laundering and terrorist financing, where different parts of society work together to combat these threats.