Reykjavík Grapevine


Reykjavík Grapevine - 14.07.2017, Blaðsíða 12

Reykjavík Grapevine - 14.07.2017, Blaðsíða 12
Guðrún Árnadóttir and Björn Þor- valdsson do not have the most glamor- ous jobs in the world. In fact, chances are you never heard of them before if you haven’t been following the Icelan- dic news for the past ten years now. And yet these two Icelanders, who comprise two-thirds of all the employ- ees at the Money Laundering Office of Iceland, are diligently working every day to fight some of the worst financial excesses in this country. “This office was originally at the National Commissioner's office and had been there since 1997,” Guðrún ex- plains. “Iceland joined the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in 1991 and if you want to take part in FATF, you have to establish an Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). Originally, there was one employee, who worked for the FIU. One of the results that came forward in an FATF Mutual Evaluation from 2006 was that the FIU needed further sup- port. This was followed by legislative changes made in 2015, and the office was moved over to the District Pros- ecutor’s office in July 2015. Now there are three employees working here.” The daily grind So what is it these two do all day? Rapel by helicopter into the office windows of shady financiers? Sadly, no. “We receive suspicious transac- tion reports from reporting entities who are legally obligated to report,” Guðrún says. “Reporting entities are required to notify the FIU if transac- tions are considered to have any links to money laundering or terrorist fi- nancing.” The folks who are legally obliged to report suspicious financial activity “can be financial services companies, pension funds and insurance compa- nies, lawyers and barristers, account- ants, real estate agents, car dealer- ships,” and others, Guðrún says. “We receive these reports and analyse the information. We have access to sys- tems wherein we can ask for additional information regarding the informa- tion in the reports. We then analyse the information we've received, and we have authority to disseminate the results to the police, the tax authori- ties, and to customs.” Who’s washing their money in Iceland anyway? “Money laundering can be from a va- riety of sources,” Björn explains. “It can be tax evasion, it can be organised crime or unorganised crime.” So we're not necessari ly talk- ing about drug lords. It could also be someone living in Iceland just trying to avoid paying taxes? “Yes. Of course, there are serious cases of people engaged in crime who are laundering money, but it is in no way limited to this,” Björn says. 12 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 12 — 2017 Words: Paul Fontaine Photos: Art Bicnick Share this: gpv.is/ml12 Money Laundering In Iceland, And How We’re Fighting It We’re doing good, but could be doing better ANALYSIS Money on their minds Æg isg arð ur Gei rsg ata Geirsgata No rð ur stí gu r Nýlendugata Mýrargata Hlé sga ta Rastargata Vesturgata Miðbakki Suðurgata Ægi sga rðu r Ægi sga rðu r TICKET OFFICE WHALE SAFARI Re yk jav ík O ld H arb ou r str and gat a HOF Lundargata Fró ðas und Eið Gra nuf elag sga ta Hofsbot Brekkugata Hafnarstræ ti ave gu rOd dag ata Skipagata G rerárgata Grundargata eyjargata TICKET OFFICE WHALE SAFARI #CLOSERTONATURE • #THEULTIMATEWHALEWATCHING • #WHALESAFARI +354 497 0000 • WHALESAFARI.IS • INFO@WHALESAFARI.IS THE ULTIMATE WHALE WATCHING TOURS FROM REYKJAVÍK & AKUREYRI CLOSER TO NATURE CERTIFCATE ofEXCELLENCE “ONE OF THE MOST FUN ACTIVITIES IN REYKJAVÍK ” Reviewed July 2016 AKUREYRI OFFICE +354 497 1000 REYKJAVIK OFFICE +354 497 0000 EXPRESS WHALES & MIDNIGHT SUN Price: 19.990 ISK WHALES, PUFFINS & REYKJAVÍK Price: 19.990 ISK “THANKS FOR AN UNFORGETTABLE EVENING!” Reviewed July 2016 DEPARTURES: Daily at 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00 & 20:00 SMALL GROUP: Max 12 passengers per boat EXPRESS TOUR: Two hour Whale & Puffin Watching Cover more area in our custom designed RIB boats Get closer to the Faxaflói bay wildlife Two hour Evening Whale & Puffin Watching Panoramic views of Reykjavík City DEPARTURES: Daily at 20:00
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