Danske Bank fined 470 million euros over international money laundering scandal

Adriana Lima
By Adriana Lima 2 Min Read
origin 1Danske Bank will pay 3.5 billion kroner (470 million euros) in fines in Denmark. ©JENS NOERGAARD ​​​​​​LARSEN / SCANPIX DENMARK / AFP, FILE

Denmark’s largest bank Danske Bank has been fined 470 million euros over an international money laundering scandal.

Denmark’s financial watchdog imposed a 3.5 billion kroner fine on Wednesday, hours after the bank settled a US case.

Prosecutor Jens-Christian Bülow said it was the “largest fine ever imposed” in a Danish money laundering case.

On Tuesday, Danske Bank also agreed to pay $2 billion (1.9 billion euros) to settle fraud investigations against US banks.

The company has recognized this around 200 billion euros have been laundered through its Estonian subsidiary between 2007 and 2015.

The scandal erupted in 2018 after an internal audit found a “series of serious deficiencies” in the Danish bank’s systems.

“Danske Bank lied to US regulators about its flawed anti-money laundering systems, inadequate transaction monitoring capabilities, and high-risk offshore clientele in order to gain illegal access to the US financial system,” the US Department of Justice said. United in one note.

In addition to the fine, Denmark confiscated 1.25 billion kroner (168 million euros) of profits from transactions of Danske’s subsidiaries.

“It is extremely serious that a bank does not have the necessary corporate governance and internal controls in the area of ​​money laundering and does not react correctly and quickly to warnings about possible money laundering,” said Prosecutor Bülow.

Danske Bank says it has since improved its compliance with money laundering legislation and closed its branches in the Baltic states and Russia.

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