Paf fined for AML failure

Finnish gaming company Ålands penningautomatförening (Paf) has been fined for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) failures.

A Finnish district court ruling last week, relating to charges brought against former Paf CEO Anders Ingves and the gambling firm, found the company guilty of “money laundering by negligence” but cleared Ingves of all charges.

The case dates back to 2011 in which a long-time Paf client placed a number of bets with the operator using stolen money from a company at which she was employed as a bookkeeper.

The claim details Paf had contacted the client when flagged by problem gambling mechanisms but had only alerted the authorities in January 2012, all the while allowing the woman to continue gambling.

Despite prosecutor Tom Laitinen’s request for Euro 700,000 in retribution, the court ordered Paf pay a Euro 50,000 penalty plus Euro 165,000 to the State which the district court considered to be the economic gain from the crime.

“The verdict of the district court is well motivated and now I have to sleep a few nights before I decide if any appeals should be submitted,” Laitinen said.

According to the claim, the customer is believed to have gambled Euro 813,000 between 2009 and 2012 using embezzled money.