Action Plan against the Shadow Economy and Economic Crime for 2016–2020

Projects

1.1 Increasing the availability of and public access to free information on the fulfilment of obligations and on actors potentially engaged in the shadow economy

• This project has been completed.
• Clarifications have been made on information to be published, on law and on the implementation solutions in the Business Information System (Ytj in Finnish).
• Summary of Working Group Reports

1.2 National Income Register

• Underway.
• The Income Register will be introduced in steps. In the first phase, as of 1 January 2019, information on wages and salaries will be reported to the Income Register.
• The Incomesregister.fi [.fi]› website contains further information on the project and future reporting.
• Article Incomes Register helps combatting the shadow economy

1.3 Regulatory burden arising from action against the shadow economy and economic crime, and its monitoring

• This project has been completed.
• Investigation of the impact of the regulatory burden and its reduction has been carried out.
• In the calculation of the regulatory burden, a calculator developed for the one-for-one principle is used. The first sector to which attention was given was the construction sector; a combating programme of grey economy has already been directed to it.
• “Harmaan talouden torjunnan aiheuttama sääntelytaakka” (“Regulatory burden caused by the combat against the grey economy”), a clarification published the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority in early 2018.

1.4 Enhancing the prevention, identification and detection of corruption

• This project has been completed.
• The report of the working group led by the Office of the Prosecutor General published in August 2019.
• The report of the working group led by the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority published in August 2019.

1.5 Cross-sectoral study on measures to tackle the shadow economy in the sharing economy

• Underway.
• The first national market research on the sharing economy was completed in February 2017.
• A clarification entitled “Sharing economy regulatory environment - Challenges and developmental needs”, compiled as official work (PDF 832 kB), was published on 8 December 2017.
• This work will be furthered deepened during 2018.

2.1 Situation awareness function to combat the shadow economy and economic crime

• This project has been completed.
• Working in collaboration, authorities have created a website entitled “Grey economy and economic crime”, accessible to the public.
• Authorities have a joint group of editors that follows the situation in the grey economy and economic crime, publishing topical content on their website.

2.2 Tackling undeclared work and promoting national and international cooperation

• Underway.
• The national collaborative network supports the EU forum for tackling undeclared work. By way of “success stories”, Finland has presented the tax number register and a programme for combatting grey economy to the forum.
• Material produced by the EU forum can be used in the prevention of undeclared work.

2.3 Action plan to step up the fight against money laundering

• This project has been completed.
• The Action Plan for enhancing the efficiency of preventing money laundering, prepared on the basis of the national risk assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing by the Police University College, was approved on 8 June 2018.

2.4 Study on the applicability of type-approved point-of-sale systems in Finland

• This project has been completed.
• A work group at the Tax Administration has prepared clarifications related to the topic: 1.) legislation and the scope of its application 2.) international practices 3.) supervision 4.) technological options for implementation, and 5.) a summary The clarifications was completed in June 2018. (in Finnish)
• Summary of statements (PDF 0,98 MB) (in Finnish)

2.5 Action plan to step up the fight against financial market abuse

• Underway.
• The amendment of the Act on Financial Supervision and the related acts (Government proposal HE 38/2018 vp.) entered into force on 5 June 2018.
• Pending legislative amendments include Government proposal for the draft on the supervision system of bank and payment accounts.

2.6 Promoting the preparation of plans under the EU Waste Shipment Regulation (EC/1013/2006) to control international shipments of waste

• Inspection plan for transboundary waste transport.

3.1 Further development of the powers of public authorities and of provisions on the exchange of information

• Underway.
• Several amendments to legislation have been implemented (the Act on Public Procurement and Concession Contracts, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Pay Security Act, the Act on Transport Services, the Act on Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, reports on corruption to the Tax Administration and the Act concerning debt collection service operators)
• Several legislative amendments are pending, including the Competition Act and legislation on social welfare and health care services.

3.2 Study on problems caused by companies declared insolvent during the enforcement procedure

• This project has been completed.
• The final report of the working group led by the National Administrative Office for Enforcement published in early 2019.
• The procedure for the registration for VAT with the Tax Administration has been made more detailed.

4.1 Extending the scope of application of administrative sanction

• This project has been completed.
• On 21 March 2017, the Ministry of Justice set up a work group to prepare general legislation on punitive administrative consequences. The Ministry of Justice has completed a memorandum.

4.2 The criminal investigation authorities, the Office of the Prosecutor General, the Finnish Tax Administration and the Bankruptcy Ombudsman will create an operating model which when applied in practice may ensure the imposition of criminal liability by determining the scope of pre-trial investigation and by applying effective administrative sanctions

• This project has been completed.
• In autumn 2017, the work group drew up two models for the intensification of collaboration between authorities and for speeding up the investigation of criminal cases involving bankruptcy and tax fraud.

4.3 Study on the effectiveness of detection and investigation of tax abuses

• This project has been completed.
• The report has been completed and it contains 1) criminal vs. administrative consequences, 2) issues related to inspections and 3) the issues related to the reporting obligation of third parties.

4.4 Review of the scale of punishments for economic offences

• Underway.
• A clarification of the sense of justice and views of the population on the consequence options was completed on 21 June 2017. A link: Kääriäinen, Kriminologian ja oikeuspolitiikan instituutti, Katsauksia 21/2017 (PDF 783 kB).
• The Ministry of Justice has completed an assessment memorandum on the proportionality of sanctions, including for financial offences (OMML 7/2018).
• The Ministry of Justice has completed a memorandum on the national implementation of the so-called PIF Directive, Directive on the fight against fraud (2017/1371) (OMML 15/2018).

4.5 Reducing the duration of the criminal procedure

• This project has been completed.
• The amendments to the Code of Judicial Procedure and the related legislation, concerning the alleviation of judicial processes, will enter into force on 1 January 2019 (Government proposal HE 200/2017 vp).
• The Ministry of Justice submitted a report to the Legal Affairs Committee on 27 December 2017 on the implementation of charge negotiation legislation in 2015–2016.

4.6 Cooperation project between the authorities responsible for enforcement, prosecution, criminal investigation and taxation to enhance the tracing, safeguarding and confiscation of the proceeds of crime

• This project has been completed.
• The final report of the working group led by the National Administrative Office for Enforcement published in May 2019.

4.7 Enhancing enforcement procedures for confiscating the proceeds of crime after final judgment, especially in international cases

• This project has been completed.
• The final report of the working group led by the Office of the Prosecutor General published in June 2019.

A National Strategy for Tackling the Shadow Economy and Economic Crime for 2016–2020 (PDF 530 kB)

Action Plan against the Shadow Economy and Economic Crime for 2016–2020 in Finnish (PDF 303 kB)

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