Sharp increase in suspected unlawful transactions in Norway detected by automated money laundering monitoring systems
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
(Oslo, 2 July 2010) The automated monitoring systems used by Norwegian banks are
identifying an ever-increasing proportion of attempted financial crime. The
number of suspicious transactions automatically identified by the systems has
increased by 30% between 2006 and 2009. These figures are produced by EDB
Business Partner, which supplies 140 Norwegian banks with systems for the
detection and prevention of money laundering. Cases involving deposits of
'dirty' money account for the majority of the cases identified.
"While financial crime is on the increase, systems for detecting and preventing
money laundering are becoming more efficient. The proportion of suspicious
transactions identified automatically is now as high as 76%, up by more than
30% since 2006. Electronic monitoring has opened up entirely new opportunities
to detect systematic money laundering, and this extends to small-scale
activities as well as large-scale transactions", explains Magnus Thorburn, Head
of Core Systems, Bank & Finance, at EDB.
The use of electronic systems for detection and prevention has so far been
concentrated on private individuals. The number of suspicious transaction
reports that involved corporate market customers represented just 3% of the
total number of suspicious transactions detected in 2009. This may be due in
part to the more limited use of electronic systems to target corporate
customers.
"In 2008, only 5% of the electronic measures in place targeted corporate
customers. This proportion has now increased to 12%. We expect that this will
lead to an increase in the number of reported incidents of money laundering
involving Norwegian companies", adds Magnus Thorburn.
Private individuals and unlawful cash transactions
Of the suspicious transactions involving personal customers, 35% relate to cash
paid into bank accounts. Social security fraud, payment fraud and "31.12" cases
(withdrawals immediately prior to year-end to avoid tax liability) account for a
further 9% of the suspicious transactions reported.
Cases reported in respect of personal customers relate to the following areas:
Area Proportion
Cash deposits 35 %
Large credit turnover 10 %
Social security fraud, fraudulent payments, and "31.12" 9 %
Transfers to/from abroad 5 %
Cases identified manually 26 %
High proportion of cases involving building and construction
Figures for 2009 show that corporate customers accounted for only a small
proportion of the suspicious transactions that were detected. One in five of
these cases involved the building and construction sector. Self-employed
business people featured in 23% of the suspicious corporate transactions.
Cases reported in respect of personal customers relate to the following areas:
Area Proportion
Large credit turnover on the account 38 %
Payments, deposits 10 %
Transfers to/from abroad 14 %
Large withdrawals 32 %
Others 6 %
Norwegian banks in the lead with money laundering detection systems
Norway became the first country in the world to require its banks to carry out
electronic surveillance of all transactions when it introduced requirements from
the start of 2005 to prevent money laundering for terrorist activities and
financial criminality. Banks and financial institutions in many countries are
now following this example as a result of national and European requirements to
report suspicious transactions to the authorities, but these requirements have
been in place in Norway for more than five years. Around 76% of the suspicious
transactions identified by Norwegian banks in 2009 were detected by automatic
systems. The proportion of identified transactions that were detected manually
has fallen from 48% in 2006 to just 24% in 2009. Of the transactions identified,
1.3% were forwarded to the Police authorities for further investigation. The
Police authorities review these transactions to decide whether to carry out
further investigations, and also make decisions on prosecuting offenders
through the courts.
How does the money laundering monitoring system work?
The system monitors every transaction carried out through the banks that use
the system, and it is programmed to detect various types of transaction that may
be suspicious. The department at each bank responsible for money laundering
prevention plays a major and important role in investigating the transactions
that are flagged by the system to identify whether they indicate a pattern of
suspicious behaviour. This makes it very important that the banks have a good
understanding of their customers and their business activities, as well as being
fully conversant with the latest methods used for money laundering. Each bank
using the EDB systems sets its own parameters for the search and monitoring
engine to optimise the detection of the type of suspicious transactions that the
bank in question considers most relevant.
More about EDB's statistics
EDB is responsible for IT operations for a major part of the money laundering
detection and prevention systems used in Norway. EDB also provides a range of
other banking applications, and is the leading supplier of IT services for
Norwegian banks and other financial institutions. EDB's statistics relate to
traffic handled by EDB's systems, which represents a large proportion of the
total number of transactions carried out in Norway annually. EDB has estimated
total figures for Norway based on EDB's market share and on the assumption that
the remainder of the market has experienced the same trends as those seen for
the transactions handled by EDB's systems.
Further information and facts from EDB's money laundering prevention statistics
can be found atwww.edb.com
For further information, please contact:
Magnus Thorburn, Head of Core Systems, Bank & Finance, EDB. Tel: +46 737 08 1728
Asbjørn Hønsvall, Head of Information, EDB. Tel: +47 915 86 868
About EDB
EDB Business Partner is one of the leading vendors of IT services in the Nordic
region, with almost 6,000 employees and annual turnover of around NOK 7.5
billion in 2009. The company has almost 50 years' successful experience of
delivering business-critical solutions to customers in both the private sector
and the public sector. EDB aims to be a close and attentive partner that
leverages its deep industry knowledge and international capabilities to help its
customers realise the full potential of IT.
EDB Business Partner ASA is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange with the ticker
code EDBASA.
See www.edb.com for further information.
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Source: EDB Business Partner ASA via Thomson Reuters ONE
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Datum: 02.07.2010 - 02:00 Uhr
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