The Ministry of Finance has developed a legislative amendment that helps to better detect money laundering. The Money Laundering Data Bureau can create a program funded by the European Union that analyzes data. The data comes from various registries and is anonymous. The law specifies when this data can be personalized to detect criminal activity. The Riigikogu approved the bill in the first reading on May 20. Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi said that currently, the RAB has limited access to data. The new law will give them more opportunities.
The bill does not grant the RAB access to new data, but rather the right to process existing data. The RAB can use various analysis methods, such as text processing and data mining. The data is processed anonymously. Ligi said that the data can be personalized only if there is suspicion of money laundering. For this, two individuals must give permission.
Processing data helps ensure the security of society and reduce crime. However, there are also risks, such as data leaks and false conclusions. For this, control mechanisms have been established.
The head of the Money Laundering Data Bureau, Matis Mäeker, said that the bill concerns data processing. The data warehouse will be connected to 11 registries. It is important to identify behavioral patterns that may indicate money laundering. The RAB receives money laundering reports from banks but does not request additional information from them. If there is suspicion, additional data may be requested. The RAB does not have access to banks' databases.
The amendment allows data to be processed by machine, such as large payments. The data is pseudonymized, and the machine identifies unusual patterns. Mäeker said that the machine compares data, such as bank account movements and customs data. If they do not match, it may indicate money laundering.
The data warehouse exists, but the RAB needs the right to process the data. This allows modeling the behavior of criminals. Mäeker said that bank reports alone are not enough; data from other registries is also needed.
The schedule for developing the bill was tight, as the deadline for the strategic analysis reform was at the end of last year. Parts of the law will come into force as early as July 1. The Finance Committee will continue to discuss the bill at Tuesday's session.