FINANCIAL MONITORING IN DENMARK

One of the largest and wealthiest economies in Europe and the world, Denmark is home to a diversity of business interests including numerous international enterprise organizations. While Denmark’s status as a business hub has contributed to economic growth, it also has made it a target for criminals seeking to commit financial crimes such as money laundering and terrorism financing. In order to protect the financial system and its participants, Denmark has introduced a strict anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regime, which is overseen by its primary financial regulator: the Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) – known in Danish as Finanstilsynet. In order to avoid both financial and criminal penalties, banks, financial institutions, and other obligated firms that do business in Denmark, must understand their AML/CFT obligations and how to operate in compliance with rules set out by the Danish FSA.

How to Comply with Denmark Money Laundering Regulations

Following Financial Action Task Force (FATF) guidance, the Danish FSA requires firms in Denmark to take a risk-based approach to AML/CFT compliance. This means that firms should develop internal compliance programs, and conduct risk assessments of their customers in order to deploy AML/CFT measures in proportion to the criminal risks that they present.

Accordingly, in order to comply with Denmark’s money laundering regulations, firms should implement the following measures and controls as part of their AML/CFT programs:

• Customer due diligence: Danish firms must establish and verify the identities of their customers by conducting suitable customer due diligence (CDD) and obtaining identifying data such as names, addresses, birth dates, and company incorporation documents.
• Transaction monitoring: Danish firms should monitor their customers’ transactions for the activity that does not fit their risk profile, and that might indicate they are involved in criminal activity.
• Sanctions screening: Danish firms should screen their customers against international sanctions and watch lists, including the EU Consolidated List and the UNSC Consolidated List.
• Politically exposed persons: Elected and government officials are considered politically exposed persons (PEP) and pose a greater Denmark money laundering risk. Accordingly, firms in Denmark should screen their customers to establish their PEP status.
• Adverse media: Danish firms should monitor for their customers’ involvement in negative or adverse media stories that might indicate they are involved in criminal activities. Adverse media monitoring should take in both traditional screen and print media and online news sources.

With that in mind, to implement effective transaction monitoring, banks should seek to capture the following data:

• The volume of money involved in customer transactions
• The frequency with which customers engage in transactions
• The senders and recipients of transactions funds
• The geographical origin and destination of funds involved in a transaction
• The correlation between a transaction and a customer’s expected financial behavior
• The involvement of high-risk factors in a transaction, such as sanctions targets, politically exposed persons, or ‘black list’ jurisdictions.

A lawyer (lawyer) in the field of banking in Denmark is one of our main job profiles. Our bank lawyer will advise you on the following issues:

• What amount of funds can be deposited in a Danish bank account?
• What to do when the bank requested documents on the origin of funds?
• What documents confirm the origin of funds?
• Where to get documents confirming the origin of funds?
• What to do if there are not enough documents about the origin of the funds?
• How to withdraw (return) blocked funds in a Danish bank?
• How to close a bank account?
• How to legally bypass financial monitoring in Denmark?
• What to do if there is no source of funds?
• How to pass financial monitoring in a Danish bank?