King Frederik X granted Royal Assent on September 8, 2026 to Denmark's Act No. 764 of 8 September 2026, gazetted in Lovtidende A on September 9, 2026. The Act amends the Anti-Money Laundering Act (hvidvaskloven, Consolidation Act No. 433 of 17 April 2026) and 18 other statutes. For Danish advocates who are obliged entities, the operative date is September 15, 2026.
From that date, proliferation financing is defined in the hvidvasklov, the section 7 risk assessment must cover CPF and the freeze duty in section 34 a(3), section 8 policies must include targeted financial sanctions and freeze procedures sized to the firm, independent testing extends to obliged persons with no statutory internal audit function, and section 74 names proliferation alongside terrorist financing.
What did Denmark change in the hvidvasklov, and from when?
Act 764, section 1, amends Consolidation Act No. 433 from September 15, 2026 under section 20(1). New section 4 a defines proliferation financing as providing funds or financial services for the manufacture, acquisition, possession, development, export, transhipment, transport, transfer or use of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons for illegitimate purposes contrary to national law or international obligations.
Section 7(1) now requires the risk assessment to cover potential breaches, non-implementation or circumvention of CPF obligations in laws targeting countries, persons, groups, legal entities or bodies, and of section 34 a(3). Section 8(1) adds written policies on financial-sanctions laws and section 34 a(3), drawn from the section 7 assessment and sized to the firm.
Section 8(4) extends independent testing to obliged persons not already covered by its first sentence, other than their Danish branches, distributors and agents: an independent audit function must test the policies, or an external expert if no such function exists. The Act sets no testing interval. Section 74(1) inserts "and proliferation" after terrorist financing. Sections 51 and 60 now freeze the supervisory file at the close of the investigation or inspection; later filings are ignored unless special circumstances apply.
| Duty | Until 14 September 2026 | From 15 September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| CPF definition | Not in the hvidvasklov | New section 4 a |
| Section 7 risk assessment | Money laundering and terrorist financing | Plus CPF and section 34 a(3) freeze risk |
| Section 8 policies | AML and CFT controls | Plus sanctions and freeze procedures, sized to the firm |
| Independent testing (section 8(4)) | Firms with a statutory audit function | Extended to other obliged persons via audit function or external expert |
| Section 74 criminal provision | Money laundering and terrorist financing | Plus proliferation |
Which Danish law firms must act, and who supervises them?
Every advocate and law firm that is an obliged entity under hvidvaskloven section 1(1)(13) must apply the new section 1 duties from September 15, 2026. The perimeter is activity-based: designated legal work already inside the hvidvasklov, not a new class of lawyers. Advokatrådet remains the AML supervisor for the profession. Finanstilsynet administers the Act (journal no. 25-008668) and supervises the financial undertakings in the same omnibus. The Act does not apply to the Faroe Islands or Greenland unless brought into force by royal order under section 21.
This is not Denmark's AMLD6 and AMLR package. Transposition of Directive (EU) 2024/1640 and alignment with Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 remain a separate Folketinget track, expected to apply from July 10, 2027. Act 764 is the FATF-evaluation omnibus (bill L 9, session 2025/2), drafted by Skatte- og Vækstministeriet.
What must the MLRO have in place by 15 September 2026?
The hvidvaskansvarlig must show an updated section 7 assessment that treats CPF and section 34 a(3) freeze risk, and section 8 policies with sanctions screening, freeze procedures and size-calibrated CPF controls. Commission independent testing: internal audit where that function exists, otherwise an external expert. Brief fee-earners who handle client money, company formation, real estate or trusts that a section 74 breach now covers proliferation. Do not wait for a consolidated reprint: the change lives in Act 764, not in a later LBK of Consolidation Act No. 433.
What else in Act 764 should a litigation or bar-compliance lead not ignore?
From September 15, 2026, the Administration of Justice Act (retsplejeloven) gains a new section 21: the courts must not accept cash payments or deposits of DKK 15,000 or more, in one sum or in linked payments. Act 764, section 17, raises the ordinary limitation period in Criminal Code sections 290 and 290 a from 1 year and 6 months to 3 years and inserts an aggravated penalty of up to 6 years' imprisonment in section 302(2) for professional or organised offences, including those tied to bribery (sections 122 and 144). Two delayed commence dates (Act 764, section 8(1) and section 16(1), November 20, 2026) concern consumer credit and do not move the lawyer AML date.
Continuous per-jurisdiction monitoring surfaces this kind of Lovtidende amendment the moment it is gazetted, so a six-day entry-into-force window is not left to a weekly round-up.
Subscribe to the free newsletter
Next steps: confirm the firm is inside section 1(1)(13); rewrite the section 7 assessment and section 8 sanctions and CPF controls before September 15, 2026; appoint the independent tester; brief litigation teams on the DKK 15,000 court-cash rule; keep Advokatrådet guidance separate from the 2027 AML package. Obsidian follows Retsinformation and Folketinget so the next hvidvasklov or bar-supervision change is visible the day it lands.
