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Collaboration

The Central Bank of Iceland cooperates with other entities within the administrative system regarding the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. The bank also actively participates in international cooperation in this field.

Domestic cooperation

The Central Bank of Iceland (CBI) actively participates in cooperation with other entities within the administrative system. The Central Bank is, among other things, a member of a steering group on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, appointed by the Minister of Justice. Read more about the steering group on the Government of Iceland's website. The CBI is also engaged in more detailed cooperation with specific entities, e.g. the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Iceland Revenue and Customs and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

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International cooperation

The Central Bank of Iceland actively participates in international co-operation, in particular with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the European Banking Authority (EBA).

FATF

The FATF is an international financial action group on measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. With the rapid global development of trade and the flow of capital between countries, the need for international co-operation and co-ordination in this field has never been greater. Iceland became a member of the FATF in 1991 and, upon accession, committed itself to harmonising legislation and rules of procedure with the task force's proposals. The work and recommendations of the FATF have played a leading global role and the European Union's anti-money laundering directives have been in line with the recommendations.

The FATF sets standards for measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The group also evaluates the actions of states to implement these standards, and researches and gets to know the methods used by those who engage in money laundering and terrorist financing.

The laws, rules and procedures of each FATF member state are assessed and reports on their actions are written. In 2017, the task force carried out a mutual evaluation on the supervision of money laundering in Iceland, and the main conclusion of the report published in 2018 was that it was substantially deficient. Since the report's release, improvements have been made in response to the FATF's conclusion. These measures include the implementation of new legislation (in accordance with the 4th European Directive 2015/849 / EC), changes in its supervisory role, increased education and general awareness-raising on this issue.

EBA

On 1 January 2020, the European Banking Authority (EBA) was given a new role in connection with the combat against money laundering and terrorist financing. Its role mainly consists of the following:

  • To coordinate supervision in this area in the financial market
  • To develop policies and shape the implementation of risk-targeted supervision
  • To coordinate the actions of obliged entities and promote the dissemination of information
  • Maintain delimited supervision with regulators

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