This is why I love how in many countries in Europe criminal record is something you have to provide willingly, if they don't ask it from you then they won't get it.
Yeah, I remember for an intership in FinTech, I had to ask the gov my (empty) criminal record to provide during my application process. It was not asked right at the start, but I think before the last interview with RH.
Sweden has this too, but in recent years it is not enough. While the employers can't do background checks themselves, they are increasingly asking for the applicant to provide their criminal record. It's hard for the applicant to say no if they need/want the job.
In Norway it's illegal to ask for a criminal record except when required by law (eg: you need a statement from police to work in child care - but the request need to state that. So a violent crime would show up (up to X years in the past, automatic expiry), while fraud would not be disclosed. Conversely a child abuse conviction would not show up on a financial controller application, but fraud might (although, I'm not sure any financial sector jobs are allowed/require a criminal record check).