If the Central Bank of Iceland discovers that a party has engaged in activities without a licence, the Bank may apply a number of measures, e.g. demand that the activities be halted, publish the names of the parties that are considered to be offering services without the required licence and impose administrative fines on the parties. In addition, this may involve fines or imprisonment.
Unauthorised activities
The Central Bank may take different actions depending on the type of activity, more information:
| Activities | Information on the actions |
|---|---|
Financial undertakings (commercial banks, savings banks, credit undertakings and investment firms) | Chapter XIII and XIV of Act no. 161/2002 on Financial Undertakings and Sections 8 and 9 of Act no. 115/2021, on Markets for Financial Instruments. |
Insurance companies | Chapters VII and XXV of Act no. 100/2016, on Insurance Activities. |
Insurance brokers and other distributors | Chapters XI and XIII of Act no. 62/2019 on Insurance distributors. |
Payment institutions | Chapter VII of Act no. 114/2021 on Payment Services. |
Electronic money institutions | Chapter VIV of Act no.17/2013 on the Issuance and Handling of Electronic Money. |
Pension funds | Pursuant to Article 55 of Act no. 129/1997, on the Mandatory Insurance of Pension Rights and the Activities of Pension Funds. |
Debt collectors | Articles 16 and 18 of Debt Collection Act no. 95/2008 |
Licensed alternative investment fund managers | Chapter XI of Act no. 45/2020 on alternative investment fund managers. |
UCITS management companies | Chapter XIII of Act no. 116/2021 on UCITS. |
Unregistered activities
The Central Bank may take different actions depending on the type of activity, more information:
| Activities | Information on the actions |
|---|---|
Individuals and legal entities operating a currency exchange service [1] | Chapter XII of Act no. 140/2018 on Measures against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing. |
Crypto-asset service providers | Chapter XII of Act no. 140/2018 on Measures against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing. |
Creditors | Chapter XVI of Act no. 118/2016 on Mortgage Lending to Consumers. |
Credit intermediaries | Chapter XVI of Act no. 118/2016 on Mortgage Lending to Consumers. |
Registered alternative investment fund managers | Chapter XI of Act no. 45/2020 on alternative investment fund managers. |
(1) It should be noted that this only applies to foreign exchanges that do not come under the following: Currency exchanges which are ancillary activities that are directly related to the party’s main activities and are only provided to the party’s customers, the total turnover of currency exchanges amounts to less than ISK 5 million per year or currency exchanges for an individual customer do not exceed ISK 100 thousand, whether the transaction takes place in a single transaction or several that seem to be related to each other.
Reporting of unlicensed or unregistered activities
If one suspects unlicensed or unregistered activities, an anonymous notification can be submitted. The following are ways to do so:
- By e-mailing sedlabanki@sedlabanki.is
- By letter to the following address: Kalkofnsvegur 1, 101 Reykjavík, marked as “Unlicensed/unregistered activities”
As has been mentioned, the person sending the notification does not have to provide a name or other personal identification.