Anti-corruption, AML and sanctions

Expectations

Which requirements and expectations do we have in respect of exporters?

Exporters, customers, and partners are expected to conduct thorough Know Your Customer- checks as part of their transactions. Please see our guidance brochure in the right-hand menu or ask us for advice.

Eksfin requires exporters and any other applicants to submit a declaration regarding corruption known as the “Exporter Declaration”. The declaration is to be obtained as early as practicable, and no later than prior to a loan being disbursed. In the declaration, the exporter and any other applicants must provide information on or declare:

• that the company undertakes to comply with the provisions of §§387-389 of the Norwegian Penal Code (cf. §15), which applies to to corruption and undue influence in both the public and private sectors,
• that the company has no knowledge of corruption or circumstances that imply corruption in connection with the export contract or other contracts we have entered into in connection with the ransaction,
• that the company undertakes to inform Eksfin,  case it in the future detect matters which could indicate probable cause to suspect corruption in connection with the transaction from parties acting as our sub-suppliers and/or parties acting on our behalf in the transaction,  
• that neither the company nor any agents or other intermediaries (whether natural or legal person) acting on its behalf in connection with the transaction, are listed on the publicly-available debarment lists of one of the multilateral financial institutions (MFIs),
• whether agents or any other intermediaries (whether natural or legal persons) are used/will be used to act on the company’s behalf in connection with the transaction. In this case, information on their role and how their remuneration is calculated and paid must be provided.
• that neither the company nor any agents or other intermediaries (whether as natural or legal person) acting on its behalf in connection with the Transaction:
  • to the best of its knowledge, are currently under charge in any court or, are formally under investigation by public prosecutors for violation of laws against bribery of any country; and/or
  • have, as far it has been able to identify on the basis of its integrity due diligence assessment, within a five year period prior to the date of the declaration, been convicted in any court for violation of laws against bribery of any country, or been subject to equivalent measures , or been found as part of a publicly-available arbitral award to have engaged in bribery.
• that the company understands the importance of developing, implementing and documenting satisfactory control systems to prevent and detect corruption.

Eksfin’s work

Compliance with laws and regulations

Eksfin shall have adequate internal control and communication procedures that ensure compliance with Norwegian law and other relevant legislation and regulations, as well as obligations that Eksfin is subject to or has chosen to comply with, including:

• OECD Council Recommendation on Bribery and Officially Supported Export Credits
• Sanctions adopted pursuant to the Norwegian Sanctions Act
• The Norwegian Money Laundering Act (no: Hvitvaskingsloven) and the Money Laundering Directive (no: Hvitvaskingsdirektivet). Eksfin is not subject to the Norwegian Money Laundering Act, but we will apply its provisions to our transactions to the extent possible .

Eksfins employees  shall work actively to mitigate and prevent corruption and fraud. We shall not offer, provide, accept, or receive, directly or indirectly, bribes or other improper advantages for commercial or private gain, either for ourselves or others. Employees shall neither use their position to gain an improper advantage for themselves or others.

How Eksfin makes its assessments

Know Your Customer (or KYC) checks  are one of our most important tools for detecting and preventing money laundering, terroristfinancin, corruption, and violation of sanctions. Such checks are therefore of great importance in our transactions.

Our internal guidelines and procedures are based on maintaining a risk-based approach. This means that we adapt mitigating measures to the risk identified. In cases where we have identified a higher level of risk, we will implement enhanced customer measures adapted to the relevant risk. In cases with a lower level of risk, we will implement standard customer measures.

Risks are mapped through a thorough review of fixed risk factors, such as country risk, the use of agents, the need for public permits in the project, the borrower’s organisational form and ownership structure, and the involvement of politically exposed individuals. In this work, we use, for example, Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, the Basel Institute of Governance AML Index, and current sanctions lists. We also screen all relevant parties in the transaction using our due diligence database. Many of the risk factors are joint  to corruption, money laundering, and the violation of sanctions and our control systems are based on a comprehensive assessment of the risks.

Eksfin’s work

Updates and training

The development of our control systems is a continuous process. Our internal guidelines and procedures are updated regularly and reviewed once a year.

Eksfin prepares an annual risk assessment that outlines the risk of Eksfin being involved in corruption, money laundering, or the violation of sanctions. The risk assessment includes an assessment of the risk score in our analysis tool, the quality of risk-reducing measures, and residual risk for the various risk factors. We obtain quantitative and qualitative data on Eksfin’s risk exposure at portfolio level, including the distribution of cases, categorised by country and level of risk.

Eksfin undertakes regular training with at least one dilemma training session per year for our employees.