Swedish Police Classify Illegal Cryptocurrency Exchanges as Professional Money Launderers

The Swedish Police and Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) recently released a report that categorizes certain cryptocurrency exchanges as “professional money launderers (PMLs)” and identifies four typical money laundering patterns, according to Cointelegraph.

The report categorizes these illegal exchanges as node trading providers, hawala trading providers, asset trading providers and platform trading providers. Nodal exchange providers are deeply integrated into criminal networks, with transactions taking place in both directions; Hawala exchange providers are connected to the underground banking system and have a wide reach in the Middle East; Asset exchange providers use crypto-assets systematically and have high transaction volumes; and Platform exchange providers operate on public P2P platforms, mainly serving small-scale drug buyers and fraudsters.

FIU Sweden highlights these illicit cryptocurrency service providers as an emerging money laundering threat that is critical to the expansion of organized crime. While calling for stronger regulation of crypto trading platforms, the authorities recognize the role of legitimate platforms in the fight against money laundering, urging them to pay close attention to suspicious trading patterns.