Reykjavík Grapevine - 14.07.2017, Side 13

Whoops, I laundered
some money
When asked what the most serious
case of money laundering in Iceland
over the past ten years has been, Björn
is pensive for a moment.
“Difficult to say what is the most
serious one,” Björn says. “The latest
one was a case that Reykjavík District
Court ruled on just last Tuesday, re-
garding the financial crimes of the
former heads of Kaupthing bank, and
other involved parties. One of them,
Skúli Þorvaldsson, was found guilty of
money laundering by negligence.”
Wait, how is it possible to engage in
money laundering without realising
you're doing it?
“If you should have known,” Björn
explains. “Like in this case, he had a
company [Marple Holding] that had
a n accou nt, a nd
he knew that high
amounts of money
were transferred
to the account. It
came to light that he
should have at least
suspected that there
was something il-
legal going on. And
the amount of mon-
ey laundered in that
case was the highest
in a money launder-
ing case in Iceland.”
“There is ac-
tually a legal ob-
l i g a t i o n t o a s k
where the money
is coming from in
these instances,”
Guðrún adds. “Like
if a friend transfers
money into your ac-
count saying, ‘I'm
just going to deposit 15 million in your
account,’ then you're legally obliged to
ask where this money is coming from.
Otherwise you could be convicted of
money laundering by negligence.”
Björn says that if you’re just a regu-
lar employee on the job, working be-
hind the counter of a candy shop, for
example, and you witness something
fishy going on but don’t report it, you
could end up being investigated, too,
depending on how involved you were.
How are we doing against
money laundering?
When asked if Iceland’s business envi-
ronment is good for shady deals, Björn
is sceptical.
“Actually, on the contrary,” he says.
“The capital controls that were in place
made it more difficult to bring money
into and out of the country. Now those
controls have been lifted, so things
could change. On the other hand, this
office and the FME have been building
themselves up more.”
The both of them add that banks
and other financial institutions have
actually done a good job when it comes
to reporting suspicious financial ac-
tivity, in no small part because their
profits rest on their reputation; failure
to report could cost them clients and
investors.
“It bears mentioning, though, that
others—for example, car dealerships
and real estate agencies—could stand
to be doing a better job,” Björn adds. “If
someone comes to buy something with
a million in cash, that's rather suspi-
cious. And it should be reported. Peo-
ple who are selling expensive things—
they ought to be reporting suspicious
activity, and they could be doing a bet-
ter job of that.”
This man has jailed bankers
Guðrún Árnadóttir
“If a friend
transfers money
into your account
saying, ‘I'm just
going to deposit
15 million in your
account,’ then
you're legally
obliged to ask
where this money
is coming from.”
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