National cooperation

Public authorities and other parties work together to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

National group for inter-authority cooperation on money laundering and terrorist financing

The inter-authority cooperation group is tasked with developing and improving the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing on the national level by:

  • improving the flow of information between supervisory bodies, operational authorities and prosecution authorities;
  • intensifying cooperation between authorities and obliged entities;
  • harmonising practices for the supervision of the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing;
  • ensuring that the compilation of statistics is monitored;
  • taking the initiative to develop legislation.

The inter-authority cooperation group examines the challenges of the exchange of information between authorities, supervisory bodies and obliged entities. The group looks for solutions to improve the exchange of information.

One of the tasks of the inter-authority cooperation group is to monitor the updating of the national risk assessment on money laundering and terrorist financing and to adopt an appropriate method for implementing the risk assessment and the methodology to be used in the risk assessment. The cooperation group also monitors the implementation of the action plan of the national risk assessment on money laundering and terrorist financing. The parties responsible for the action plan report their progress to the group.

The cooperation group is co-chaired by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of the Interior. The members of the group are the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Financial Supervisory Authority, Regional State Administrative Agency for Southern Finland, Finnish Customs, Finnish Tax Administration, Grey Economy Information Unit of the Finnish Tax Administration, Financial Intelligence Unit of the National Bureau of 

Investigation, Finnish Security and Intelligence Service, National Police Board, Gambling Administration of the National Police Board, Finnish Border Guard, Office of the Prosecutor General, Finnish Patent and Registration Office, and Finnish Bar Association.

The inter-authority cooperation group has set up sub-groups:

  • The sub-group for supervisory bodies focuses on the exchange of information between the supervisory bodies referred to in the Act on Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing.
  • The NPO sub-group (non-profit organisations), develops the supervision of the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing in the NPO sector (a 2020–2023 project under the Action Plan for Tackling the Grey Economy and Economic Crime).
  • The risk assessment sub-group prepares a proposal for the most appropriate way of implementing the risk assessment and for the methodology to be used in the risk assessment. The risk assessment sub-group also ensures that work on the risk assessment progresses and guides parties participating in the risk assessment.

Project page of the inter-authority cooperation group (vm.fi, in Finnish)

Strategy and action plan for tackling the grey economy and economic crime (link to the Grey economy & economic crime website)

FATF Steering Group and FATF Group

Finland is a Member of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF). Finland has established the FATF Steering Group and the FATF Group for the purposes of national cooperation. 

The FATF Steering Group guides and coordinates the national implementation of the obligations arising from Finland’s FATF membership. The FATF Steering Group is tasked with:

  • conducting inter-authority cooperation;
  • developing action plans and deciding on their implementation;
  • coordinating issues and discussions relating to the above tasks;
  • deciding on Finland's positions for FATF’s working group and plenary meetings.

The Ministry of Finance chairs the FATF Steering Group. The members are the key authorities and bodies responsible for preventing money laundering and terrorist financing.

The FATF Group operates under the FATF Steering Group and is responsible for preparing Finland’s positions, which are decided on by the FATF Steering Group. The FATF Group collects information and prepares responses to requests for comments and information received from FATF. The organisations in the FATF Group appoint their own representatives to FATF’s working group and plenary meetings.

The Ministry of Finance chairs the FATF Group, and the members are the same as the FATF Steering Group. 

Finnish Anti-Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce (FAMLIT)

FAMLIT (Finnish Anti-Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce) is a joint expert group of the National Bureau of Investigation's Financial Intelligence Unit and the obliged entities referred to in the Act on Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing. The taskforce seeks to improve the effectiveness of the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.

The objective of the taskforce’s operational cooperation is for the participants to exchange concrete information on suspicious transactions and targets in accordance with the Act on Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing.

One of the objectives of developing prevention processes is to remove obstacles to the exchange of information, exchange up-to-date information on methods of money laundering and terrorist financing and exchange information on money laundering risks. The taskforce also develops the capabilities of obliged entities to better identify suspicious transactions, for example, by the type of offence. It provides feedback on the quality and effects of reports of money laundering and on successes. The taskforce also generates ideas on how to develop the prevention processes of the Financial Intelligence Unit and obliged entities.