meta_id 3249975

On June 18, 2026, Sweden's Financial Supervisory Authority (FI) published its third annual report on prioritised risks within money laundering, terrorism financing and international sanctions (referred to collectively as financial crime). The report identifies a significant risk that the financial system is being exploited by criminals for money laundering and other criminal activities. The report highlights that the general risk level for money laundering and terrorism financing in Sweden has increased compared to five years prior. Priority areas for 2026 include: The FI considers payment institutions, electronic money institutions and other firms offering fast, digital and international financial services to be exposed to heightened financial crime risks. The rapid development of digital financial services creates new opportunities for criminals, particularly where services are provided remotely and without a physical presence. The FI expects firms to adapt their risk management frameworks as products and services evolve. Banks remain a significant area of focus due to their vulnerability to criminal exploitation. The FI continues to be concerned about risks affecting small and medium-sized banks, as well as correspondent banking relationships, where banks provide services through intermediary institutions and must rely on those counterparties’ AML controls. Crypto-asset activities are considered high risk because they can facilitate money laundering, terrorist financing and sanctions evasion through anonymity and rapid cross-border transfers. The FI notes that crypto-assets remain important in criminal activities, including dark-web drug trafficking and the concealment of criminal proceeds. The FI assesses that companies and other legal entities continue to be widely used in money laundering schemes. Businesses can be utilised to process large cash flows, move funds between multiple corporate accounts and create complex transaction chains that are more difficult to detect and investigate than transactions involving personal accounts. The FI highlights that the ease with which companies can be established, dissolved and have their management changed reduces transparency and traceability, increasing the risk that legal entities are used in sophisticated and organised money laundering operations. Terrorist financing remains a major supervisory priority. Although Sweden's terror threat level was lowered from “high” to “elevated” in May 2025, the FI notes that the threat remains serious. The FI stresses that firms must maintain robust controls to identify and prevent terrorist financing regardless of whether the intended attack is planned in Sweden or abroad.