The Swedish regulator has announced that the Financial Police in the country received more than 700 suspected money laundering reports in 2020. Compared to 2019, this represents an increase of nearly 15% in reported suspected money laundering cases.
700 Suspected Money Laundering Reports Filed in 2020
Swedish regulator, Spelinspektionen, has announced the number of suspected money laundering reports received by the Financial Police in the country in 2020. Overall, last year, there were 705 received reports of suspected money laundering from gaming companies, banks, and other payment institutions.
According to Spelinspektionen, only half of the 70 gaming companies who currently hold a Swedish license for online gambling and betting have submitted reports in 2020. The number of reports received in 2020 marks a 14.8% increase when compared to the 614 reports received in 2019.
However, the regulator acknowledged that “under-reporting” may be observed, considering how many gambling companies flagged suspicions for money laundering. Furthermore, Spelinspektionen said that “it is likely” for criminal groups and other organizations to use the gaming industry for money laundering. Another point which the Swedish regulator raised is that commercial online games present a greater opportunity for laundering large sums of money.
Spelinspektionen Urges Operators to Report Suspicious Transactions
The regulator stressed that filing a suspicion report, doesn’t necessarily mean that the gaming company has evidence that money laundering or financing of illegal activities was conducted. Additionally, Spelinspektionen urged companies to report if they have a suspicion of money coming from illegal activity. The Swedish regulator also reminded that the companies must also report denied transactions.
Besides the number of money laundering reports, the Swedish gambling authority has also recently released data outlining the generated net sales of licensed operators in 2020. Last year, licensed operators generated net sales of SEK24.7 billion ($2.9 billion). This represented a decrease of 0.4% when compared to 2019. However, it’s important to mention that the bigger cut of the revenue in 2020 was raised by online gambling activities. In 2020, licensed online gambling operators raised SEK15.2 billion ($1.8 billion) in net revenue.