As financial crime increases, banks face greater challenges in preventing money laundering.Since it is the employees of the Anti-Money Laundering (AML)-departments who play acrucial role in combating money laundering, this study will examine their attitudes andprofessional role. The study uses a qualitative method, where semi-structured interviewswere used for data collection. To continuously revise and further develop, an inductiveexploratory approach has been used. The study's theoretical framework is based oninstitutional theory, profession theory and theory of legitimacy, which together helped tocreate an analysis of the collected data. The results of the study indicate that the AMLdepartment is not only a recipient of external regulations but also plays an active role in thebank's ethical obligations. It also appears that employees' motivation is not primarily drivenby compliance with laws and regulations. Instead, the motivation lies in contributingpositively to society. The contribution to society strengthens the professional identity ofthe professional role. In their day-to-day work, AML-staff face significant challenges relatedto bank secrecy, which limit the possibilities for information exchange between banks andthus make it difficult to effectively combat money laundering.