Estonia's money laundering data bureau reports system glitch

Estonia's Money Laundering Data Bureau (RAB), together with the Information Technology and Development Centre of the Ministry of the Interior (SMIT), has identified a technical glitch that prevented some reports sent to RAB between August 13 and 31 from reaching the agency's database.

The glitch did not affect reports marked "Urgent," since such cases require an immediate response from RAB for further action. Reports submitted via the X-tee data exchange system, as well as most reports filed through the standard method, also reached the database without issue.

According to a joint press release from RAB and SMIT, the exact number of affected reports is still being clarified, but preliminary estimates suggest around a couple hundred reports were involved. RAB receives more than 14,000 reports per year in total.

RAB deputy head Toomas Plaado apologized for the situation. He said that after the error was discovered, a fix was quickly implemented together with IT specialists to prevent the problem from recurring. He added that in the new information system, scheduled to launch in early 2027, the risk of such a glitch occurring will be eliminated entirely.

Liisi Holmberg, head of the centralized business services department at SMIT, explained that the glitch occurred at the data-saving stage during report transmission. Based on the analysis, there is no possibility of a data leak, and the cause of the malfunction has already been fixed.

RAB has contacted all senders affected by the glitch. Anyone with questions can reach the agency at info@fiu.ee.

In 2025, RAB received 14,323 reports, not counting cross-border information. The largest senders of reports are banks.