Finland updates risk assessment of money laundering, terrorist financing

The government on Thursday adopted a resolution on the partial update of the risk assessment and action plan describing Finland’s national understanding of the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing and of the methods to manage those risks, said an official press release.

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of the Interior partially updated the Nation Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing that they published in 2021.

Unofficial international money remittances involve a very high risk of money laundering and terrorist financing. In addition, public authorities responsible for anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism and other key actors consider the risk to be high for virtual currency providers, banks and payment service providers.

Shortcomings remain in the exchange of information between public authorities, with the private sector and between obliged entities. This is a significant risk in a variety of sectors.

Virtual currency providers have the highest number of individual money laundering risks. The industry is continually developing, and it is particularly important that public authorities stay up to date with current trends.

Public authorities have improved their ability to identify terrorist financing in many ways, but they should continue to specialise in the investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences. The risk management of obliged entities also needs improvement.

The impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on money laundering and terrorist financing is one of the phenomena that the ministries analyse in the risk assessment. Various methods of circumventing sanctions emerged as a key risk.

Corruption and the use of remote services are the other phenomena analysed in the risk assessment. Cybercrime is considered the largest risk in remote services.

The challenge of identifying corruption, particularly in political decision-making, is one of the risks relating to corruption highlighted in the assessment.

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of the Interior have also updated the risk assessment’s action plan for this and next year.

The strategic priorities of the action plan are to raise general awareness of money laundering and terrorist financing, enhance information exchange and statistical compilation and further develop national legislation, implement measures to mitigate the most significant individual risks highlighted in the assessment and further develop digitalisation in supervising the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing and in risk management.

Unregistered hawala operators have been included in the action plan for the first time. There is a very high risk of money laundering and terrorist financing associated with these unofficial international money remitters.