Almost all reports related to transactions indicating money-laundering activities originate from financial service providers.
The compliance divisions of banks spend a great deal of time and effort on implementing the various regulations and discovering risk-based approaches related to the detection and avoidance of money laundering, the financing of terrorism and corporate fraud. And with good reason: László Sors, criminal deputy chairman of the National Tax and Customs Office (NAV), has previously said the extent of money laundering in Hungary could reach about $15 billion.
“Banks spend billions on the prevention of money laundering in line with international requirements,” OTP Bank director Zsolt Wieland explains. But these efforts do not always bring the expected results, according to a country report by Moneyval, the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism. In Hungary, the main concern of Moneyval evaluators was the low number of convictions for money laundering offenses compared to the large number of convictions for proceeds-generating offenses.
In the first half of 2011, NAV’s Hungarian Financial Intelligence Unit received 3,144 reports related to transactions indicating money laundering and terrorist financing. The HFIU sent 420 reports to initiate new criminal investigations and 632 reports to support ongoing cases. A total of 13 reports were sent to initiate court proceedings, and 738 reports to support ongoing court cases. There were 21 transactions suspended along with the launching of a report.
“The financial sector faces very serious legal requirements and is under continuous state supervision,” OTP Bank senior manager Gábor Kanyó says. According to the HFIU, almost all reports originate from financial service providers, leaving only a minor part, altogether nine reports in the first half of 2011, to non-financial service providers.
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