Financial Crime World

Norway’s Progress in Mitigating Financial Crime Risks: A FATF Update

Oslo – Norway has made substantial strides in enhancing its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) measures following a review by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in March 2018. The following headlines outline the key achievements and progress made by Norway.

FATF Overview

  • The FATF is an independent inter-governmental body that aims to develop and implement policies to protect the global financial system against money laundering, terrorist financing, and weapons of mass destruction.
  • The organization’s Recommendations serve as the global AML and CTF standard.

Norway’s Commitment and Progress

  • The Norwegian government’s commitment to addressing gaps in its financial crime prevention framework was highlighted in the 3rd Enhanced Follow-up Report and Technical Compliance Re-Rating.
  • In the 4th Mutual Evaluation Report, Norway was classified as Partially Compliant (PC) across multiple recommendations, leading to Enhanced Follow-up and new requirements in Recommendations 5, 7, and 8.

Addressing Weaknesses

  • To improve risk assessments, Norway established the Contact Forum in October 2014 to assess risks, coordinate strategies, and oversee the development of the second National Risk Assessment (NRA).
  • The FSA has strengthened its position by placing regulatory requirements for reporting entities to identify, assess, and understand AML/CTF risks and keep assessments updated.
  • The FSA has also addressed deficiencies in existing legislation with simplified and enhanced due diligence requirements, and the need for financial institutions to perform risk assessments.

Challenges and Future Work

  • Norway aims to influence resource allocation to effectively combat money laundering but must ensure consistent implementation across the regime at an agency level.

FATF Resources and Contact Information

  • For more information about the FATF, please visit their website.

Conclusion

The 3rd Enhanced Follow-up Report and Technical Compliance Re-Rating demonstrate the significant progress Norway has made in strengthening its AML/CTF framework. However, the country still faces challenges in aligning efforts across all relevant agencies to effectively counter evolving financial crime risks.