Advisense Event on Cross-Nordic Financial Crime Prevention
On Thursday 13th June, Advisense hosted a seminar taking a cross-Nordic view on financial crime prevention.
Norwegian author and investigative journalist at NRK Brennpunkt, started off the seminar with a key-note, diving into two practical showcases based on his extensive work over years to uncover financial crime. Nordahl explained how owners behind a Norwegian telecommunications company concealed ownership and funneled assets through trusts in the British Virgin Islands, and how Brunstad Christian Church (BCC) also known as Smiths Venner with 25,000 members, used trusts and shell companies in Cyprus and Bermuda to hide the true ownership by the top leaders of the congregation.
A panel followed addressing current money laundering trends and risks in the Nordics, with Linn Hoel Ringvoll, general counsel at the Norwegian crowdfunding company, Kameo, Advisense experts from Denmark, Sweden and Norway.
Linn Hoel Ringvoll shared practical experiences showcasing how companies such as Kameo have built a corporate culture able to effectively work with AML, how to manage collaboration within cross-border operations and building systems for customer intelligence and risk classification that allows for in-depth and perpetual analysis.
The panel was both timely and lively, not in the least given the renewed intensive debate caused by the Danish TV documentary The Black Swan, which is now broadcast across the Nordics. The series shows the working of the criminal economy, the ‘underworld’, based on how a lawyer, with connections to large parts of the Danish underworld, becomes a mole for a group of journalists in order to expose a web of criminal network actors.
According to the panel, certain perspectives cannot be emphasized enough. It is about the general risk assessment, knowing your customer (KYC) and customer risk classification. Especially with regards to KYC, the panel discussed the importance of staff experience within an organisation so that red flags and anomalies can be effectively detected. Participants in the audience of approximately forty AML professionals raised questions around continuous investments in AML programs as the risk environment will continue to escalate. This is a concern, and financial institutions have already invested in the billions.
Chris Kronow Rasmussen from Advisense Denmark, noted the eagerness among participants to share knowledge and information.
Extremely happy to witness the participants’ enthusiasm and curiosity at our seminar, driving insightful discussions and deepening our collective understanding. This event shows that people want more insights and sharing of knowledge.
Chris Kronow Rasmussen, Director Financial Crime Prevention at Advisense Denmark
“Extremely happy to witness the participants’ enthusiasm and curiosity at our seminar, driving insightful discussions and deepening our collective understanding. This event shows that people want more insights and sharing of knowledge.”
Companies at large are just at the very initial stages of automizing KYC and onboarding processes and applying AI which will have the potential to significantly reduce operational costs and improve efficiency.
Also last week, the Norwegian Parliament adopted 47 new measures against financial crime. One of the measures aims to enhance specialist expertise within the police, specifically in the police districts. Around 2,000 people work in financial crime prevention in financial institutions in Norway. In 2023, obligated entities submitted nearly 24,000 Suspicious Activity Reports to the Norwegian FIU, with very few cases even being investigated. Sufficient resources and competence within the Police is absolutely crucial.
The scramble for competent and experienced resources will continue to be an issue across the Nordic markets, not only with regards to compliance expertise but also in terms of technical systems development. Too many organisations are still hampered by suboptimal legacy systems. It is valuable to also share experiences from smaller and fintech companies. By joining up for this kind of experience exchange and in-depth discussion, we hope to be able to contribute the work needed going forward.
Maja Jordahl, Manager Financial Crime Prevention at Advisense Norway
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