The Danish Gambling Authority has issued SkillOnNet with three orders for anti-money laundering (AML) breaches and two reprimands for breaches to AML-related rules surrounding whistleblowing and business procedures.
The five total breaches were placed against the company following the Danish Gambling Authority’s inspection of SkillOnNet’s Anti-Money Laundering Act compliance materials. Following the orders, SkillOnNet is obligated to submit a revised risk assessment alongside other required materials within two months, with proof of internal implementation to be sent as a document in six months.
The first order that was placed regarded inefficient risk assessment, which stated that ‘no separate risk assessment has been made of the individual identified risks associated with SkillOnNet 's business model, including products and payment solutions.’ The breach of Section 7(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act meant SkillOnNet was inadequate in identifying AML risks, due to not running risk assessments against individual products and solutions.
The second order pertained to inadequate business processes, due to SkillOnNet not keeping written records of details that ensured internal controls were being implemented. This was deemed a breach of Section 8(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
The final order was due to a lack of documentation regarding internal controls that SkillOnNet had implemented. This was also seen as a breach of Section 8(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
In terms of the reprimands placed against the company, the first was listed as being due to inadequate business practices. The Danish Gambling Authority described that, prior to 16 October 2023, Skill on Net’s business procedures for establishing relationships with customers was inefficient, due to ‘a discrepancy between the business procedure and practice.’ These inefficiencies were deemed to have breached several sections of the act, including Section 8(1) and Section 18(1).
The second and final reprimand was due to SkillOnNet ’s inadequate whistleblower scheme, which up until June 2023 was only accessible via email, removing a significant level of anonymity. This was deemed a breach of Section 35(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, which pertains to necessary levels of anonymity needed to protect whistleblowers.
