|
Sanctions:
None applicable
____________________________________________________
Offshore Jurisdiction Blacklists:
Information unavailable.
____________________________________________________
US State Department Money Laundering Report - 2011:
Although it is a high income country, Norway is not considered a
regional financial center. Norway’s significance in terms of money
laundering is low. There are illicit proceeds related to narcotics
sales and production, prostitution, robberies, smuggling, and
white collar crimes like embezzlement, tax evasion and fraud.
Criminal proceeds laundered in the jurisdiction derive primarily
from domestic criminal activity, often by foreign criminal gangs or
guest workers who in turn remit the proceeds home. Money
laundering and terrorist financing primarily occur through
exchange houses and banks, but also to an increasing degree,
through alternative remittance systems such as hawala.
DO FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS ENGAGE IN CURRENCY
TRANSACTIONS RELATED TO INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS
TRAFFICKING THAT INCLUDE SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF US
CURRENCY; CURRENCY DERIVED FROM ILLEGAL SALES IN
THE U.S.; OR THAT OTHERWISE SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECT THE
U.S.: NO
CRIMINALIZATION OF MONEY LAUNDERING:
“All serious crimes” approach or “list” approach to predicate
crimes: All crimes
Legal persons covered: criminally: YES civilly: YES
CRIMINALIZATION OF TERRORIST FINANCING:
Ability to freeze terrorist assets without delay: YES
UN lists of designated terrorists or terrorist entities distributed to
financial institutions: NO
(Please refer to the Department of State’s Country Reports on
Terrorism, which can be found here: http://www.state.
gov/s/ct/rls/crt/)
KNOW-YOUR-CUSTOMER RULES:
Covered entities: Banks, the Central Bank, finance companies,
emoney institutions, pension funds, postal operators, auditors,
asset managers, securities dealers, credit agents, money
exchangers, insurance companies, accountants, lawyers,
notaries, auction houses, realtors, money transporters, holding
houses, dealers in autos and high-value goods
Enhanced due diligence procedures for PEPs: foreign: YES
domestic: YES
SUSPICIOUS TRANSACTION REPORTING REQUIREMENTS:
Covered entities: Banks, the Central Bank, finance companies,
emoney institutions, pension funds, postal operators, auditors,
asset managers, securities dealers, credit agents, money
exchangers, insurance companies, accountants, lawyers,
notaries, auction houses, realtors, money transporters, holding
houses, dealers in autos and high-value goods
Number of STRs received and time frame: 5,294 through the third
quarter of 2010
Number of CTRs received and time frame: 3,681 in 2009
MONEY LAUNDERING CRIMINAL
PROSECUTIONS/CONVICTIONS:
Prosecutions: Not available
Convictions: Not available
Assets forfeited: criminally: Not available civilly: Not available
RECORDS EXCHANGE MECHANISM:
With U.S.: YES
With other governments/jurisdictions: YES
Norway is a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Its
most recent mutual evaluation can be found here: http://www.fatf-
gafi.org/document/14/0,3343,
en_32250379_32236963_43177166_1_1_1_1,00.html
ENFORCEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES AND
COMMENTS:
The FIU voices some concern over the low number and poor
quality of reports from certain entities covered by the reporting
obligation. Banks, auditors and insurance companies maintain
high levels of reporting, while reports from dealers in cars and
other expensive items is low and decreasing. Reporting from
attorneys is up, but low compared to the high number of
transactions covered by this sector. The FIU is attempting to
improve the quality of STR reporting by providing specific
guidance and follow up to obligated entities. Although aggregate
data is not available, for the size of the Norwegian economy the
number of money laundering prosecutions and convictions is low.
According to the Norwegian police, institutions’ individual
compliance departments are responsible for obtaining information
on the UN lists of designated terrorists and terrorist entities.
____________________________________________________
US State Dept Narcotics Report 2011 (introduction):
No report available
____________________________________________________
US State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report 2011
(introduction):
(Tier 1)
Norway is a destination and, to a lesser extent, a transit and
source country for women and girls subjected to sex trafficking
and for men and women subjected to forced labor in the domestic
service and construction sectors. Foreign children are subjected
to forced begging and forced criminal activity, such as shoplifting
and drug sales. Most trafficking victims identified in Norway in
2010 originated in Nigeria, while others came from Algeria,
Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, China, the Philippines, Ghana,
Eritrea, Cameroon, Kenya, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic
of Congo. These victims usually travel to Norway on Schengen
visas issued by other European countries, and transit several
countries, such as Italy, Spain, and Morocco. Approximately 25
percent of all trafficking victims in Norway in 2010 were children.
Criminal organizations are often involved in human trafficking in
Norway, and trafficking schemes varied by victims’ countries of
origin. Children in Norwegian refugee centers and migrants who
are denied asylum are vulnerable to human trafficking in the
country; unofficial reports indicated that 47 children disappeared
from refugee centers during the 2010 calendar year.
The Government of Norway fully complies with the minimum
standards for the elimination of trafficking. The government
increased the number of trafficking convictions and lengthened
the sentences imposed on convicted trafficking offenders,
although Norwegian authorities did not prosecute any labor
trafficking cases this year. The government approved a new
permanent residency permit to trafficking victims who face
retribution and hardship in their home country, even in the
absence of court testimony, if the victim testifies to police. NGOs
reported, however, that a child trafficking victim was deported in
2010 despite identification as a victim.
For full report click here
____________________________________________________
US State Dept Terrorism Report 2010
Overview: The Norwegian government continued to build its
counterterrorism capacity and issued an action plan to counter
extremist ideology. Authorities arrested and charged three al-
Qa'ida-connected terrorist suspects, pursued charges against
Ansar al-Islam leader Mullah Krekar for threatening a public
official and inciting terrorism, implemented improved passport
security measures, and commenced legal proceedings against a
Norwegian-Somali suspected of financing terrorism.
Legislation and Law Enforcement: A new Immigration Act entered
into force on January 1, 2010, authorizing the Ministry of Justice
(MOJ) to issue instructions to other agencies relating to visa
applicants on the EU terror list. The MOJ instructed the
Directorate of Immigration, the Immigration Appeals Board,
Norwegian foreign missions, and police to issue neither visas nor
residence permits to persons who are on the EU terror list, or to
persons associated with organizations on the list, before
forwarding such visa applications to the MOJ for consideration.
In February 2009, the jury in an appeals court had affirmed a
lower court's conviction of Arfan Bhatti for attempted murder and
aggravated vandalism; it also affirmed a sentence of eight years
imprisonment in the case. Following a retrial in May 2010, the
Court of Appeal found Bhatti guilty of causing criminal damage to
the synagogue but acquitted him of attempted murder. The court
sentenced Bhatti to two years imprisonment on the vandalism
charge, but annulled the sentence because he had already spent
three years in pretrial custody. The State Prosecutor chose not to
appeal the verdict.
In July, three persons with Norwegian citizenship or residency
were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit a terrorist
act in Norway. According to open source reports, three were born
outside of Norway and had al-Qa'ida connections. The three men,
Mikael Davoud, Shawan Bujak, and David Jakobsen, were placed
in custody pending further investigation and trial. In September,
suspects Davud and Bujak each confessed to plotting a terrorist
attack, albeit against different targets. The third suspect,
Jakobsen, continued to deny the charges. The Supreme Court
ordered Jakobsen released from custody on September 15; the
other two suspects remained in pre-trial detention at year’s end.
In December, the Oslo District Court acquitted Abdirahman Abdi
Osman, a Norwegian citizen of Somali ancestry, of charges of
knowingly collecting approximately US$ 34,000 for a terrorist
organization and knowingly contributing funds to a terrorist
organization. The court found that although a certain amount of
the money Osman admitted transferring may have gone to
finance al-Shabaab, the money was not earmarked for specific
terrorist purposes, and the Norway-based contributors did not
control how the money was used. Based on Osman's admission
that he transferred money to an armed group, the court fined him
US$ 1700 for breaking the UN's weapons embargo on Somalia
but also annulled the sum due to time spent in custody. The State
Prosecutor has appealed the verdict.
Mullah Krekar (aka Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad), the founder of
Ansar al-Islam, an organization on both the U.S. list of designated
Foreign Terrorist Organizations and the UN list of entities linked
to terrorist activities, resides in Norway. He has been arrested on
several occasions in previous years by Norwegian law
enforcement. To date, authorities have been unable to collect
sufficient evidence to convict him (membership in a terrorist
organization is not a criminal offense in Norway). Based on
threats he issued against a prominent Norwegian politician during
a press conference in Oslo in June, authorities questioned him in
court and, in September, initiated preliminary charges against him
for threats against public officials, general threats, and incitement
to terrorism.
Countering Terrorist Finance: The Government of Norway
adopted the Financial Action Task Force's standards and
recommendations, including the special recommendations on
terrorist financing, and incorporated them into Norwegian law.
Regional and International Cooperation: On February 1, the
government ratified the Council of Europe Convention on the
Prevention of Terrorism, which entered into force in Norway on
June 1.
As of April 6, fingerprint information was required in all newly
issued Norwegian passports, consistent with an EU directive on
the use of biometrics in EU/Schengen passports. Although not an
EU member, Norway was required to implement the EU directive
as a signatory of the European Economic Area Agreement and
the Schengen agreement. Norway continued to permit the use of
passports issued before April 6, as long as they were otherwise
valid.
Countering Radicalization and Violent Extremism: In December,
the Norwegian government issued an action plan to counter
extremist ideology as a key part of its counterterrorism strategy.
The plan contained 30 measures that apply from 2010 to 2013
and focuses on four priority areas: 1) increased knowledge and
information; 2) strengthened government cooperation; 3)
strengthened dialogue and involvement; and 4) support for
vulnerable and disadvantaged people.
The Oslo municipality continued its OXLO campaign, "Oslo Extra
Large," to facilitate integration and understanding. This year's
campaign posters, describing the city as a place that welcomes
diversity, were placed at bus and tram stops and metro stations,
and school leaders and teachers were encouraged to discuss the
campaign with students. In September, government and religious
leaders attended the OXLO-Conference 2010, "Dialogue in a
Multi-Cultural Society."
None applicable
____________________________________________________
Offshore Jurisdiction Blacklists:
Information unavailable.
____________________________________________________
US State Department Money Laundering Report - 2011:
Although it is a high income country, Norway is not considered a
regional financial center. Norway’s significance in terms of money
laundering is low. There are illicit proceeds related to narcotics
sales and production, prostitution, robberies, smuggling, and
white collar crimes like embezzlement, tax evasion and fraud.
Criminal proceeds laundered in the jurisdiction derive primarily
from domestic criminal activity, often by foreign criminal gangs or
guest workers who in turn remit the proceeds home. Money
laundering and terrorist financing primarily occur through
exchange houses and banks, but also to an increasing degree,
through alternative remittance systems such as hawala.
DO FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS ENGAGE IN CURRENCY
TRANSACTIONS RELATED TO INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS
TRAFFICKING THAT INCLUDE SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF US
CURRENCY; CURRENCY DERIVED FROM ILLEGAL SALES IN
THE U.S.; OR THAT OTHERWISE SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECT THE
U.S.: NO
CRIMINALIZATION OF MONEY LAUNDERING:
“All serious crimes” approach or “list” approach to predicate
crimes: All crimes
Legal persons covered: criminally: YES civilly: YES
CRIMINALIZATION OF TERRORIST FINANCING:
Ability to freeze terrorist assets without delay: YES
UN lists of designated terrorists or terrorist entities distributed to
financial institutions: NO
(Please refer to the Department of State’s Country Reports on
Terrorism, which can be found here: http://www.state.
gov/s/ct/rls/crt/)
KNOW-YOUR-CUSTOMER RULES:
Covered entities: Banks, the Central Bank, finance companies,
emoney institutions, pension funds, postal operators, auditors,
asset managers, securities dealers, credit agents, money
exchangers, insurance companies, accountants, lawyers,
notaries, auction houses, realtors, money transporters, holding
houses, dealers in autos and high-value goods
Enhanced due diligence procedures for PEPs: foreign: YES
domestic: YES
SUSPICIOUS TRANSACTION REPORTING REQUIREMENTS:
Covered entities: Banks, the Central Bank, finance companies,
emoney institutions, pension funds, postal operators, auditors,
asset managers, securities dealers, credit agents, money
exchangers, insurance companies, accountants, lawyers,
notaries, auction houses, realtors, money transporters, holding
houses, dealers in autos and high-value goods
Number of STRs received and time frame: 5,294 through the third
quarter of 2010
Number of CTRs received and time frame: 3,681 in 2009
MONEY LAUNDERING CRIMINAL
PROSECUTIONS/CONVICTIONS:
Prosecutions: Not available
Convictions: Not available
Assets forfeited: criminally: Not available civilly: Not available
RECORDS EXCHANGE MECHANISM:
With U.S.: YES
With other governments/jurisdictions: YES
Norway is a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Its
most recent mutual evaluation can be found here: http://www.fatf-
gafi.org/document/14/0,3343,
en_32250379_32236963_43177166_1_1_1_1,00.html
ENFORCEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES AND
COMMENTS:
The FIU voices some concern over the low number and poor
quality of reports from certain entities covered by the reporting
obligation. Banks, auditors and insurance companies maintain
high levels of reporting, while reports from dealers in cars and
other expensive items is low and decreasing. Reporting from
attorneys is up, but low compared to the high number of
transactions covered by this sector. The FIU is attempting to
improve the quality of STR reporting by providing specific
guidance and follow up to obligated entities. Although aggregate
data is not available, for the size of the Norwegian economy the
number of money laundering prosecutions and convictions is low.
According to the Norwegian police, institutions’ individual
compliance departments are responsible for obtaining information
on the UN lists of designated terrorists and terrorist entities.
____________________________________________________
US State Dept Narcotics Report 2011 (introduction):
No report available
____________________________________________________
US State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report 2011
(introduction):
(Tier 1)
Norway is a destination and, to a lesser extent, a transit and
source country for women and girls subjected to sex trafficking
and for men and women subjected to forced labor in the domestic
service and construction sectors. Foreign children are subjected
to forced begging and forced criminal activity, such as shoplifting
and drug sales. Most trafficking victims identified in Norway in
2010 originated in Nigeria, while others came from Algeria,
Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, China, the Philippines, Ghana,
Eritrea, Cameroon, Kenya, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic
of Congo. These victims usually travel to Norway on Schengen
visas issued by other European countries, and transit several
countries, such as Italy, Spain, and Morocco. Approximately 25
percent of all trafficking victims in Norway in 2010 were children.
Criminal organizations are often involved in human trafficking in
Norway, and trafficking schemes varied by victims’ countries of
origin. Children in Norwegian refugee centers and migrants who
are denied asylum are vulnerable to human trafficking in the
country; unofficial reports indicated that 47 children disappeared
from refugee centers during the 2010 calendar year.
The Government of Norway fully complies with the minimum
standards for the elimination of trafficking. The government
increased the number of trafficking convictions and lengthened
the sentences imposed on convicted trafficking offenders,
although Norwegian authorities did not prosecute any labor
trafficking cases this year. The government approved a new
permanent residency permit to trafficking victims who face
retribution and hardship in their home country, even in the
absence of court testimony, if the victim testifies to police. NGOs
reported, however, that a child trafficking victim was deported in
2010 despite identification as a victim.
For full report click here
____________________________________________________
US State Dept Terrorism Report 2010
Overview: The Norwegian government continued to build its
counterterrorism capacity and issued an action plan to counter
extremist ideology. Authorities arrested and charged three al-
Qa'ida-connected terrorist suspects, pursued charges against
Ansar al-Islam leader Mullah Krekar for threatening a public
official and inciting terrorism, implemented improved passport
security measures, and commenced legal proceedings against a
Norwegian-Somali suspected of financing terrorism.
Legislation and Law Enforcement: A new Immigration Act entered
into force on January 1, 2010, authorizing the Ministry of Justice
(MOJ) to issue instructions to other agencies relating to visa
applicants on the EU terror list. The MOJ instructed the
Directorate of Immigration, the Immigration Appeals Board,
Norwegian foreign missions, and police to issue neither visas nor
residence permits to persons who are on the EU terror list, or to
persons associated with organizations on the list, before
forwarding such visa applications to the MOJ for consideration.
In February 2009, the jury in an appeals court had affirmed a
lower court's conviction of Arfan Bhatti for attempted murder and
aggravated vandalism; it also affirmed a sentence of eight years
imprisonment in the case. Following a retrial in May 2010, the
Court of Appeal found Bhatti guilty of causing criminal damage to
the synagogue but acquitted him of attempted murder. The court
sentenced Bhatti to two years imprisonment on the vandalism
charge, but annulled the sentence because he had already spent
three years in pretrial custody. The State Prosecutor chose not to
appeal the verdict.
In July, three persons with Norwegian citizenship or residency
were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit a terrorist
act in Norway. According to open source reports, three were born
outside of Norway and had al-Qa'ida connections. The three men,
Mikael Davoud, Shawan Bujak, and David Jakobsen, were placed
in custody pending further investigation and trial. In September,
suspects Davud and Bujak each confessed to plotting a terrorist
attack, albeit against different targets. The third suspect,
Jakobsen, continued to deny the charges. The Supreme Court
ordered Jakobsen released from custody on September 15; the
other two suspects remained in pre-trial detention at year’s end.
In December, the Oslo District Court acquitted Abdirahman Abdi
Osman, a Norwegian citizen of Somali ancestry, of charges of
knowingly collecting approximately US$ 34,000 for a terrorist
organization and knowingly contributing funds to a terrorist
organization. The court found that although a certain amount of
the money Osman admitted transferring may have gone to
finance al-Shabaab, the money was not earmarked for specific
terrorist purposes, and the Norway-based contributors did not
control how the money was used. Based on Osman's admission
that he transferred money to an armed group, the court fined him
US$ 1700 for breaking the UN's weapons embargo on Somalia
but also annulled the sum due to time spent in custody. The State
Prosecutor has appealed the verdict.
Mullah Krekar (aka Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad), the founder of
Ansar al-Islam, an organization on both the U.S. list of designated
Foreign Terrorist Organizations and the UN list of entities linked
to terrorist activities, resides in Norway. He has been arrested on
several occasions in previous years by Norwegian law
enforcement. To date, authorities have been unable to collect
sufficient evidence to convict him (membership in a terrorist
organization is not a criminal offense in Norway). Based on
threats he issued against a prominent Norwegian politician during
a press conference in Oslo in June, authorities questioned him in
court and, in September, initiated preliminary charges against him
for threats against public officials, general threats, and incitement
to terrorism.
Countering Terrorist Finance: The Government of Norway
adopted the Financial Action Task Force's standards and
recommendations, including the special recommendations on
terrorist financing, and incorporated them into Norwegian law.
Regional and International Cooperation: On February 1, the
government ratified the Council of Europe Convention on the
Prevention of Terrorism, which entered into force in Norway on
June 1.
As of April 6, fingerprint information was required in all newly
issued Norwegian passports, consistent with an EU directive on
the use of biometrics in EU/Schengen passports. Although not an
EU member, Norway was required to implement the EU directive
as a signatory of the European Economic Area Agreement and
the Schengen agreement. Norway continued to permit the use of
passports issued before April 6, as long as they were otherwise
valid.
Countering Radicalization and Violent Extremism: In December,
the Norwegian government issued an action plan to counter
extremist ideology as a key part of its counterterrorism strategy.
The plan contained 30 measures that apply from 2010 to 2013
and focuses on four priority areas: 1) increased knowledge and
information; 2) strengthened government cooperation; 3)
strengthened dialogue and involvement; and 4) support for
vulnerable and disadvantaged people.
The Oslo municipality continued its OXLO campaign, "Oslo Extra
Large," to facilitate integration and understanding. This year's
campaign posters, describing the city as a place that welcomes
diversity, were placed at bus and tram stops and metro stations,
and school leaders and teachers were encouraged to discuss the
campaign with students. In September, government and religious
leaders attended the OXLO-Conference 2010, "Dialogue in a
Multi-Cultural Society."
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| Further Tables |
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* In 2009, The FATF recognized that Norway had made significant
progress in implementing the 49 recommendations and that from that
date it should report on a biennial basis on the actions it will take in the
AML/CFT area.
progress in implementing the 49 recommendations and that from that
date it should report on a biennial basis on the actions it will take in the
AML/CFT area.
| NORWAY |
| KnowYourCountry |
|
________________________________________________________
AML News / Updates
February 10, 2011 - The Global Forum on Transparency and
Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes has issued a Combined
Phase 1 and Phase 2 peer review for Norway
View Review....
Links:
Worldwide AML Legislation (International Bar Association)
AML News / Updates
February 10, 2011 - The Global Forum on Transparency and
Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes has issued a Combined
Phase 1 and Phase 2 peer review for Norway
View Review....
Links:
Worldwide AML Legislation (International Bar Association)
|
| Last Updated: 16 April 2012 |