Two years on: Who is in charge of the fight against money laundering?
Two years after experts from public authorities, the financial sector and academia called for better coordination in the fight against financial crime, the key players are returning to CBS. According to Associate Professor Kalle Rose, the central problem remains unresolved: no one is in overall charge
Plenty of people are working to combat money laundering and financial crime in Denmark. The problem is that no one is really in charge of the overall effort.
That was one of the main conclusions when around 110 experts from public authorities, the financial sector and academia gathered at CBS in 2024 to discuss how Denmark could improve its efforts to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other forms of financial crime.
On 12 November, the key players will meet again at CBS. One of the crucial questions will be how much progress Denmark has actually made since the first gathering.
Although progress has been made in several areas, CBS Associate Professor Kalle Rose says that one fundamental problem remains unresolved: Denmark still lacks an authority with a clear mandate to coordinate the overall effort. This was also the main message of the report ‘Forum for Viden og Samarbejde: AML/CFT & FinCrime Impact Report 2024’, which followed the meeting.
“Perhaps we need more scandals” Kalle Johannes Rose
Associate Professor
Many soldiers but no general
The Danish authorities are certainly doing a great deal, but the responsibility is fragmented.
Kalle Rose has previously compared the situation to an army with plenty of soldiers but no general to coordinate them. At the 2024 conference, he argued that the problem was not a lack of rules but a lack of coordination among those responsible for enforcing them.
At the time, the Danes had been able to watch an extraordinary cast of characters from their sofas in the TV 2 documentary ‘The Black Swan’. Using hidden cameras, mole Amira Smajic, biker-gang member Fasar and lawyers Nicolai Dyhr and Lise Roulund provided an unwitting glimpse into how hardened criminals, reputable lawyers and businesspeople apparently work closely together to launder black money.
Court cases followed in the wake of the documentary, some of which have yet to be concluded, and several politicians publicly voiced their outrage at the criminal activity.
More scandals needed
“Perhaps we need more scandals,” says Kalle Rose, who would like to see greater political interest in changing the way Denmark addresses money laundering.
“Authorities such as the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET), the Danish Financial Intelligence Unit, the Danish Tax Agency, the Danish Business Authority, the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority and the Ministry of Justice each have their own areas of responsibility. That creates challenges for the decision-making and increases the risk of issues falling through the cracks,” he says.
Rose points out that making each individual authority or company better at combating financial crime will not necessarily solve the problem if no one is responsible for ensuring that the system as a whole is pulling in the same direction.
Together with Director Legal Kjeld Gosvig-Jensen from Finance Denmark, he has argued for three changes: a central coordinating body with a clear mandate and budget, more research-based knowledge about financial crime and better opportunities for the organisations involved to share information.
Gosvig-Jensen and Rose made the same case when they appeared before the Danish Parliament’s tax, legal affairs and business committees last year. However, according to Rose, it has produced no results.
Billions at stake
The 2024 seminar was based on an estimate that criminals laundered around DKK 68 billion a year in Denmark. That is equivalent to the cost of more than four new major hospitals every year. Even then, it was stressed that the true figure was probably higher. Today, those working in the field speak of amounts running into hundreds of billions of Danish kroner.
At the same time, financial crime is evolving; it is becoming more organised and more international, and new forms of digital payment are creating new ways to move and conceal money.
The upcoming seminar is scheduled to include presentations from the Danish Financial Intelligence Unit, Finance Denmark and the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority as well as Kalle Rose from CBS, followed by a panel discussion.
The seminar will take place in person and online, and for the first time, anyone interested can receive a link and follow the event online. Read more:
Facts
Facts about efforts to combat money laundering
Some of the key conclusions of the report ‘Forum for Viden og Samarbejde: AML/CFT & FinCrime Impact Report 2024’ are:
- A great deal is being done, but the efforts are not necessarily coordinated. This is due to the lack of a clear national plan for collaboration.
- Denmark needs a central coordinating body with a clear mandate and budget.
- We need academic, objective and critical analysis to deepen our understanding of financial crime and terrorist financing.
- We need to be able to share information promptly, both among public authorities and between public authorities and obliged entities.
About the researcher
Facts about the researcher
- Kalle Rose is an associate professor at the Department of Accounting at CBS.
- His research is focused on anti-money laundering, systemic risk management and public-private risk partnerships.
- He initiated the first seminar in 2024, which brought different stakeholders together at CBS to discuss efforts to combat money laundering.