FI: “Nordea has released through anything” – Swedish Dagbladet

Handelsbanken and Nordea gained on Monday morning a hearty rebuff by Finansinspektionen (FI) for failing to comply with money laundering rules. In total, the two banks fined 85 million crowns since the FI found major flaws in how the two financial giants are working towards pennigtvätt.

The Financial Supervisory review based on a sample survey of approximately 100 customers at each of the four major banks. Customers have been selected from any of the high-risk groups as defined FI. While the SEB and Swedbank have therefore been included in the review, but here FI found no reason to either reprimand or penalty.

Money laundering is a growing problems around the world and becomes increasingly more attention, and Sweden is no exception. Here laundered annually about 100 billion, according to FI at today’s press conference.

It’s about money from criminals who earned illegally sent between accounts in such a way that they seem to be honorably earned. The money is used partly to finance terrorism, states FI and emphasizes that it is “extremely important” that the banks are doing what they can to prevent this. It has therefore not been the case with Nordea and Handelsbanken.

– The deficiencies are so large and serious that we need to target sanctions against both banks. Our focus now is that banks should implement the action plans and get to grips with the problems, said deputy director general Martin Noréus at today’s press conference.

Nordea receives the stringent sanction, a warning and a fine 50 million. The criticism of FI is most similar to a scolding.

– Nordea’s systems have basically released through anything. This is serious. It has not had a functioning infrastructure to detect or combat money laundering. They stem from the many parts of the acquis. This is not acceptable to any bank, but one can not deny that this applies to Sweden’s largest bank and a bank that is considered globally important, says Per Håkansson, FI’s general counsel.

Nordea Moreover, according to FI, lacked systems to find out whether the bank has had customers who belong to the risk categories are defined. This applies particularly to people in foreign countries with high positions (judges, diplomats, politicians, etc.), companies based outside the Nordic region and the so-called correspondent banks.

– You have lacked systems to find out if customers belonged to the category and has held a number of high-risk customers without knowing it, says Per Håkansson.

Suspicious transactions to Nordea’s systems have not had the opportunity to catch up These include transactions with tax havens or that the same Customer makes many småöverföringar.

Even at Handelsbanken , there have been serious problems, according to FI. The Bank has indeed taken action, but not in a comprehensive manner, according to Per Håkansson.

– It has been a great risk that there have been transactions that the bank is not able to detect, that could be suspect, says Per Håkansson .

It’s not the first time Nordea criticized for poor procedures on money laundering. In 2013 the bank received a reprimand and a fine of 30 million crowns by FI. Then it was about the Bank’s handling of a million scrolling around TeliaSonera’s business with the notorious regime in Uzbekistan. While 2010 ended Nordea under fire for inadequate procedures and reporting.

– It has been bad, really bad. It has in many parts missing systems and support to detect money laundering. Nordea has done very little, or nothing at all, absolutely no risk assessment of their clients until 2013, continues Per Håkansson at the press conference.

Now wait a comprehensive work at Handelsbanken and Nordea to correct the deficiencies. FSA has full confidence that the two banks will make a great effort.

– I can not imagine a situation where we say that something must be done and that a large bank then do not. In Nordea’s case, this involves about to buy into a large and advanced transaction review system, says Per Håkansson.

He also stated that the sanctions against Nordea and Handelsbanken probability had become considerably harder if the deficiencies had been discovered after August in 2014, when the new rules took effect. The ceiling for fines is now 10 per cent of annual turnover, which in Nordea’s case is around 6 billion.

Earlier this year announced Economic Crimes Bureau (EBM) that they put exchange offices in Sweden under the microscope for To access any money laundering that takes place there.