Anti-money laundering

Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing have become areas of increasing focus for supervisory authorities, law enforcement and prosecuting bodies. The regulatory framework extends far beyond the traditional financial sector. Requirements vary significantly between jurisdictions, making it necessary for organisations with international operations to manage parallel regulatory regimes, differing reporting obligations and varying documentation and control requirements. Failure to comply may result in anything from regulatory sanctions to criminal liability for both companies and individuals, in addition to significant reputational damage.

Our team has extensive experience assisting organisations across industries in understanding and mitigating money laundering risk. We support clients in developing and updating internal procedures, assessing existing control systems and delivering training that strengthens the organisation’s ability to prevent and detect suspicious transactions. The objective is to establish robust systems, minimise exposure and provide clients with confidence in navigating an increasingly demanding regulatory landscape.

Where suspicions arise or authorities have initiated measures, we provide strategic advice, manage communication with supervisory authorities and offer support in internal or external investigations. The team combines expertise in criminal law, compliance and financial regulatory frameworks, and has experience from complex investigations.

Our experience includes, among other things, assisting:

• Norwegian and international financial sector participants with the assessment and management of anti-money laundering risk, including support in developing enterprise-wide risk assessments, internal frameworks and governance policies, as well as training of employees.
• Norwegian financial institutions with the negotiation of contracts for the outsourcing of AML measures, and with the adaptation and implementation of IT systems to standardise and streamline customer due diligence processes under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
• A leading international financial institution in a dispute concerning the right of access to basic banking services, balanced against financial institutions’ right to refuse customers on the basis of AML requirements.
• Leading global financial institutions with general advice on Norwegian anti-money laundering requirements.
• Norwegian financial institutions with training of key personnel and board members on the obligations imposed under the anti-money laundering framework.