Norway’s progress to improve effectiveness in combating money laundering and terrorist financing

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Follow-Up Assessment Norway 2019

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Follow-Up-Assessment-Norway-2019.pdf
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5 December 2019 – Since its mutual evaluation in 2014, Norway has worked to improve the effectiveness of its national framework to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.   

The FATF has conducted a 5th year follow-up assessment hat looks at the effectiveness of Norway’s measures on five issues, or ‘Immediate outcomes’.  To reflect the country’s progress, the FATF has re-rated Norway on three of these immediate outcomes.  As a result of its progress, the country has moved from the enhanced follow-up process to the regular follow-up process.

  • Risk, Policy and Coordination (Immediate Outcome 1)

Norway has reached a substantial level of effectiveness in understanding the money laundering and terrorist financing risks it faces and co-ordinating actions domestically to combat these crimes.  The FATF has re-rated Norway from Moderate to Substantial.

A robust national risk assessment, in combination with agencies’ threat assessments have helped Norway better understand its money laundering and terrorist financing risk context. The country has improved co-ordination of efforts to combat these crimes, including through a Contact Forum, which is tasked with identifying money laundering and terrorist financing risks and developing strategies to mitigate these risks. Norway has also focused on operational cooperation and has prioritised awareness raising in high-risk sectors such as the banking sector and payment institutions.

  • Financial Intelligence (Immediate Outcome 6)

Competent authorities in Norway have reached a substantial level of effectiveness in appropriately using financial intelligence and other relevant information for money laundering and terrorist financing investigations.  The FATF has re-rated Norway from Moderate to Substantial.

With nearly triple the number of financial intelligence reports used by Norwegian law enforcement agencies in 2018 compared to 2015 (from 50 to 134), the country was able to demonstrate a good improvement of the use of financial intelligence.  The number and quality of suspicious transactions reports is increasing, and the country has developed its capacity for strategic analysis of financial intelligence,  

  • PF Financial Sanctions (Immediate Outcome 11)

Norway is now achieving a substantial level of effectiveness in preventing persons and entities involved in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction from raising, moving and using funds, consistent with the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions.  The FATF re-rated Norway from Moderate to Substantial.

Norway has removed delays in transposition of designations for proliferation financing sanctions into Norwegian law.  The country has established a mechanism to communicate and coordinate on proliferation financing issues, and to establish risk-based targeted supervision.

Norway is now achieving high or substantial levels of effectiveness on 5 of the 11 key areas identified by the FATF as immediate outcomes of an effective framework to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. 

Norway must now focus on strengthening its effectiveness on the remaining immediate outcomes, including its measure to ensure appropriate supervision, monitoring and regulation of financial institutions and lawyers, real estate agents and other non-financial entities, and to ensure that the proceeds of crime are confiscated.

Technical compliance

During the five years that have passed since its mutual evaluation, Norway has worked to improve its technical compliance with the FATF’s requirements.  To reflect this progress, the FATF already re-rated Norway on 8 Recommendations in March 2018 and on 13 Recommendations in March 2019. The country is now compliant or largely compliant on 35 of the 40 Recommendations. 

Earlier reports

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