Anti Money Laundering (AML) in Finland
Money laundering in Finland is not a major problem.
The Ministry of the Interior is the authority responsible for the development of AML legislation. The basis for preventing money laundering in Finland is the Act on Preventing and Clearing Money Laundering of 1998. This Act, among other things, established a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) for Finland. Finland’s FIU, known as the Money Laundering Clearing House, is a part of the National Bureau of Investigation and receives all reports of suspicious transactions. It is the Financial Supervisory Authority’s duty to supervise that the operating procedures, risk management and internal control of supervised entities are in compliance with existing legislation.
AML Training in Finland
Finland's Act on Preventing and Clearing Money Laundering and Funding of Terrorism requires financial institutions throughout the country of Finland to create and implement effective training programs to combat illicit financial activity.
The Economy of Finland
Finland has a highly industrialized and largely free-market economy with per capita output roughly that of the UK, France, Germany, and Italy. Its key economic sector is manufacturing - principally the wood, metals, engineering, telecommunications, and electronics industries. High unemployment remains a persistent problem. However, Finnish researchers are at the leading edge of developments in a number of fields, including forest improvement, new materials, the environment, neural networks, low-temperature physics, brain research, biotechnology, genetic technology, and communications.
Banking in Finland
The Bank of Finland is Finland's Central Bank, and acts as the national monetary authority to ensure the stability of the Euro. The Central Bank is also a member of the European Central Bank (ECB). The Bank of Finland is also responsible for supervising banking operations in the country and maintaining the currency supply.
Finnish Currency
The currency in Finland is the Euro, which serves as the currency of the 15 members of the European Central Bank. The states that have adopted the Euro as currency make up the Eurozone. These countries are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. The Euro is the single currency for more than 320 million Europeans.
The Euro was first phased into the global economy in 1999. In the beginning, participating countries had to combat the use of both Euros and former national currencies. Beginning in 2002, national currencies were withdrawn.
The Euro comes in both banknotes and coins. Banknotes are available in 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 denominations. Coins are available in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cent pieces, and 1 and 2 Euro coins.
Other Key Statistics of Finland
Time Zone: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time).
Daylight Saving Time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October.
Location: Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia.
Population: 5,244,749 (July 2008 est.).
Labor Force: Approximately 4.4% work in agriculture and forestry, 18.6% in industry, 6% in construction, 16.3% in commerce, 13.9% in finance, insurance and business services, 7.6% in transport and communications, and 33.2% in public services industries. The unemployment rate is 6.9%.
Languages Spoken: Finnish (official), Swedish (official), other (small Sami- and Russian-speaking minorities).
Trade Organizations: Finland is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations (UN).
