(Amended 1 May 2011)
Norges Bank, banks and other parties have a duty to investigate and report if they suspect that transactions have a connection with a criminal act (cf. the Act relating to measures to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism, etc (Money Laundering Act).
The following rules pertain to deliveries to Norges Bank of notes and coins that are physically marked or damaged in ways that give grounds for suspecting that they are connected with a criminal act, or in the event other circumstances give grounds for suspecting such a connection. Examples are notes that have been stained by means of ampoules of dye that are used in cash-in-transit and automated teller machines or notes that may be cut or washed in an attempt to remove the dye.
Members of the public with such notes in their possession shall contact their bank if they are in valid note series. The bank concerned shall then take the actions pursuant to the provisions of the Money Laundering Act before the notes are delivered to Norges Bank.
In connection with deliveries from members of the public to Norges Bank in connection with an application for compensation for lost, burnt or damaged notes and/or coins or with rules for redemption of withdrawn notes and coins, Norges Bank will take the actions pursuant to the provisions of the Money Laundering Act.
1. Banks’ deliveries to Norges Bank
Notes or coins that may be connected with a criminal offence, or notes that have been dye-stained by accident, must be delivered to Norges Bank’s own depots. Deliveries shall be accompanied by documentation (form) that describes what actions were taken by the bank, whether further inquiries were conducted pursuant to the provisions of the Money Laundering Act and whether the matter was reported to ØKOKRIM (Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime).
The following requirements will apply:
1.1 Dye-stained notes, notes with cut-off edges or which show signs of chemical cleaning or which for some other reason may be assumed to be connected with a criminal offence.
a) Prior to delivery, the bank making the delivery shall have complied with the provisions of the Money Laundering Act. As documentation, the delivering bank shall complete and attach a form certifying that the bank has made inquiries and filed a report in accordance with the rules in the Money Laundering Act and that the police will not request that the notes be surrendered as evidence.
b) The notes shall be delivered separately.
1.2 Notes that have been dye-stained by accident during packing or transport
a) The delivering bank shall complete and enclose a form which describes the incident in detail.
b) If the carrier has been authorised by the delivering bank, the carrier may complete the form. Any authorisation must accompany the delivery.
c) The notes shall be delivered separately and have been dried and counted to facilitate processing.
Processing by Norges Bank:
Delivered notes together with a completed form that meets the requirements in 1.1 and 1.2 will be accepted by Norges Bank and the corresponding amount credited to the delivering bank’s account. Notes delivered without the aforementioned documentation will be returned to the delivering bank.
Fees for deliveries are listed in Terms and conditions for banks’ withdrawals of cash from and deposits of cash in Norges Bank (In Norwegian only).
2. Deliveries by members of the public to Norges Bank
Members of the public may apply for compensation for damaged notes and/or coins in accordance with current guidelines or redemption of withdrawn banknote and coin series.
Norges Bank will base its judgement on the appearance of the notes and/or coins and on the statement made by the customer on the application regarding when the money came into his/her hands and how and when the damage occurred.
If in view of this there may be grounds for suspecting that the money may be connected with a criminal act, further inquiries will be made.
Processing by Norges Bank:
The application will be processed by Norges Bank, which will, if necessary, report the matter to ØKOKRIM in accordance with the provisions of the Money Laundering Act.
A fee will be charged if the application is granted (cf. the guidelines).
3. Forms
Forms for banks’ delivery to Norges Bank of banknotes that may be connected with a criminal act and for banks’ delivery to Norges Bank of banknotes - accidents may be downloaded from the page Dye-stained notes.