Sweden’s Efforts to Combat Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Face Challenges

Introduction

Despite Sweden’s efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, a number of challenges remain within the country’s borders and abroad.

The Threat of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

According to the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå), money laundering and other forms of financial crime are significant threats to national security. The council’s 2015 report, “Money laundering and other money management - Criminal money, black money and murky money in the legal economy,” highlighted the risks posed by these crimes.

Government Measures to Combat Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

The government has implemented measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, including:

The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act (2017:630)
The Act on penalties for money laundering offences (2014:307)

However, a 2020 report by the National centre for Terrorist Threat Assessment found that several challenges remain, including:

Systemic risks linked to strawmen
Population registration
Exploited identities

The Swedish Regime Against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

The Swedish regime against money laundering and terrorist financing is based on two sets of regulations - administrative and penal. The administrative regulations aim to prevent and counteract the exploitation of financial activities and other business activities for the purposes of money laundering and terrorist financing, while the penal regulations aim to prosecute individuals who have engaged in these crimes.

Collaboration Among Agencies

The 16 agencies involved in combating money laundering and terrorist financing, including:

The Swedish Police Authority
The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention
The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority

are working together to identify and assess risks in the sectors defined under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

Ongoing Challenges and Future Plans

Despite progress made by Sweden in combating money laundering and terrorist financing, the threat remains significant. According to the National centre for Terrorist Threat Assessment, the country faces a high level of terrorist threat, which can have serious consequences for national security and stability.

The Swedish government has acknowledged that more needs to be done to address these challenges and is working to strengthen its measures against money laundering and terrorist financing. The country’s efforts to combat these crimes are closely monitored by international organizations such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Brå: Money laundering and other money management - Criminal money, black money and murky money in the legal economy (2015)
Government Offices: Combating money laundering and terrorist financing
FATF: Sweden’s measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing
National centre for Terrorist Threat Assessment: Terrorist threat assessment - 2021