COPENHAGEN: Denmark needs to improve its anti money laundering efforts, the internal organisation Financial Action Task Force (FTAF), an international organization that sets global standards for fighting illicit finance, said in a report.
“Denmark does not have a national strategy to combat money laundering and terrorist financing and needs to do more to properly assess and understand the risks it is exposed to,” it said.
“In almost all segments of the financial sector and many of the other businesses and professions covered by the FATF Standards, money laundering and terrorist financing risks are not sufficiently assessed or updated,” it said.
“Denmark has achieved substantial level of effectiveness in the investigation and prosecution of terrorist financing and international cooperation with foreign counterparts, in particular the Nordic and Baltic countries,” it said.
The Danish government said in June, it would raise the minimum penalty for money laundering and extend punishment to anyone who avoids reporting possible money laundering, tax evasion or financing of terrorism.
Denmark’s FSA plans tougher scrutiny of how banks assess the risk of money laundering with a new law to combat the crime that came into effect in June.
“These developments are welcome and the Danish authorities are encouraged to ensure an effective implementation of these new legal provisions,” the FATF said of the new initiatives.
