Swedish, Baltic FSAs to strengthen anti-money laundering cooperation

  • 2019-03-08
  • LETA/BNS/TBT Staff

TALLINN - The financial supervision authorities (FSAs) of Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have launched a joint investigation into the suspected money laundering in Swedish banks' Baltic subsidiaries and the Swedish FSA is strengthening its supervision capacity with regard to anti-money laundering measures.

The FSAs of the three states will jointly determine the focus and extent of the investigation, that is the companies and period of time  to be probed.

Director General of the Swedish FSA Erik Thedeen said that the banks' management and boards of directors must take money laundering matters seriously and ensure that compliance with the laws and regulations is group-wide.

"This is the banks' responsibility. [The Swedish FSA] is responsible for checking that the banks have established systems and procedures to prevent them from being used for money laundering," Thedeen said in a press release.

The Swedish FSA is also in agreement with the other authorities in the Nordic and Baltic countries that the ongoing work must be significantly strengthened. The former will arrange a meeting in the near future for the highest responsible persons of Nordic and Baltic FSAs. The intention is to create a closer strategic and operational collaboration for how they can enhance anti-money laundering efforts within the financial sector in the region through more coordinated supervision.

The Swedish FSA also decided to request the state an additional 10 million Swedish kronor per year to strengthen money laundering supervision from 2020 onward.