Sweden calls illicit crypto exchanges ‘Professional Money Launderers’ as they facilitate the movement of criminal funds into its financial system.
Sweden’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Swedish Police Authority have called out shady crypto exchanges in a report, labeling them professional money launderers (PML). According to the agencies, these exchanges are unlicensed and illegally operating setups that allow criminals to launder funds by leveraging crypto assets. With that, criminals can push their ill-gotten proceeds into the Swedish financial system.
A report from the FIU read, “All in all, the assessment from FIU Sweden is that there is an increasing demand for PML from organized crime and that the services they provide are pivotal for the criminal economy.”
The FIU has created four sections into which these exchanges fall, including the node exchange provider, the hawala exchange provider, the asset exchange provider, and the platform exchange provider.
The report accepted the necessary part registered crypto exchanges play in curbing money laundering, with the FIU urging them to ensure they report illicit transactions alongside offboarding users laundering money.
Law Enforcement’s Duty to Address Laundering
Nevertheless, illicit exchanges still exist, and the FIU asked law enforcement to be involved better in monitoring and enforcing laws on them. It stated, “FIU Sweden assesses illicit cryptocurrency providers as an emerging threat within money laundering schemes and a crucial part for organized crime to maintain and expand their criminal markets.”
As Sweden plans on throwing the book at illegal exchanges, its tax authority, the Swedish Tax Agency, investigated 21 mining firms that have not paid their taxes appropriately—eighteen of those filed incomplete information to not pay VAT on their earnings. Its investigation occurred between 2020 and 2023.
The Administrative Court, looking into the tax case, has demanded $90 million from those miners. It accepted appeals from two mining companies.
