Kindred Group slapped with Danish reprimand over AML breaches

Kindred Group’s Unibet brand has been reprimanded by the Danish Gaming Authority (DGA) over multiple violations of the Danish Money Laundering Act. In a statement confirming its reprimand, the DGA attributed the censure to “inadequate customer knowledge procedures and non-fulfilment of the investigation obligation”, conditions which are required under the Act. Specifically, the violations related to two separate player deposits, the first of which was DKK1.4m (£160,118) placed into a player account over a two-year period between December 2016 and 2018. In the first of these deposits, the DGA assessed Unibet as having insufficient source of funds knowledge about where the money had come from. This happened despite the fact that in March 2015 Unibet had noted that the player – who was inactive at the time – would have to be monitored if he became active again. In December 2018, Unibet asked the player to provide proof of the origin of the funds, with documentation later confirming suspicions that the player concerned was gambling beyond his current means. However, despite proving the unaffordable nature of the gambling spend, Unibet allowed the player to deposit more than DKK1.8m between 2019 and April 2020, when his account was finally closed. The operator also failed to notify the State Attorney for Special Economic and International Crime (SØIK), which is outlined in section 26 of the Money Laundering Act. “The order to make a notification is given because in the case of the same player, Unibet has failed to make a notification to the Money Laundering Secretariat, even though already in 2015 there was a suspicion that was never refuted,” the DGA explained. “As Unibet has still not notified the Money Laundering Secretariat, the infringement continues and Unibet has therefore received an order to rectify the situation by notifying,” the DGA added. Responding to a request for comment by EGR, a spokesperson for Kindred Group acknowledged the reprimand, asserting it related to “past failings” and not current Kindred standards. “Over the last year we have updated our policy and procedures to ensure further improvements to our AML framework,” the spokesperson told EGR. “We are taking necessary precautions to ensure we remain compliant with AML regulations and maintain our high standards on consumer protection. Kindred will continue to collaborate fully with the DGA,” Kindred added. Fellow Danish licensees LeoVegas and 888 have also felt the wrath of the DGA over similar breaches of the Danish Money Laundering Act, with LeoVegas receiving a reprimand in October.