Title page
HIGH-LEVEL SUMMARY TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE REPORT
PROJECT SUMMARY
Nordic-Baltic Regional Technical Assistance Project Financial Flows Analysis, AML/CFT Supervision, and Financial Stability
September 2023
Prepared By
Grace Jackson, Maksym Markevych, Pierre Bardin, Alexander Malden, Antoine Bouveret (consultant), Santiago Texidor Mora, and Indulekha Thomas
MEMBERS: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden
DISCLAIMER
The contents of this document constitute a high-level summary of technical advice provided by the staff of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to the authorities of a member country or international agency (the “CD recipient”) in response to their request for capacity development. Unless the CD recipient specifically objects within 30 business days of its transmittal, the IMF will publish this high-level summary on IMF.org (see Staff Operational Guidance on the Dissemination of Capacity Development Information).
2023 International Monetary Fund HLS/23/12
High-Level Summary Technical Assistance Report
Legal Department
Project Summary: Nordic-Baltic Technical Assistance Project – Financial Flows Analysis, AML/CFT Supervision, and Financial Stability
Prepared by: Grace Jackson, Maksym Markevych, Pierre Bardin, Alexander Malden, Antoine Bouveret (consultant), Santiago Texidor Mora, and Indulekha Thomas
The High-Level Summary Technical Assistance Report series provides high-level summaries of the assistance provided to IMF capacity development recipients, describing the high-level objectives, findings, and recommendations.
ABSTRACT: In their efforts to strengthen the effectiveness of Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism Frameworks across the Nordic-Baltic Region (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden), the Governors of the Nordic-Baltic Central Banks reached out to the IMF to request technical assistance. The request stems from various international money laundering banking scandals (ABLV, Danske Bank, Nordea, Swedbank), involving cross-border payments by nonresidents that exposed financial integrity risks in the financial sector of the region, attracting international scrutiny on the level of non-resident Money Laundering/Terrorist Financing ML/TF risks and highlighting the vulnerabilities related to AML/CFT risk-based supervision of banks in the region. The flagship project relied on a novel methodology to leverage data analysis to understand ML/TF threats and vulnerabilities and their potential impact on financial stability, and developed country and regional recommendations. Notably, the project involved an analysis of (i)potentially high-risk financial flows to and from the region; (ii) the AML/CFT domestic and regional supervisory landscape related to banks and virtual assets; and (iii) the potential implications of financial integrity shocks on financial stability.
| JEL Classification Numbers: F39 |
| Keywords: Anti-Money Laundering, Combatting the Financing of Terrorism, Money Laundering Shocks, Financial Stability, Illicit Financial Flows, Machine Learning, and Risk-Based Supervision |
| JEL Classification Numbers: F39 |
| Keywords: Anti-Money Laundering, Combatting the Financing of Terrorism, Money Laundering Shocks, Financial Stability, Illicit Financial Flows, Machine Learning, and Risk-Based Supervision |
