Danske Bank is deep in the money laundering swamp

According to recent revelations from the Berlingske daily newspaper, Russian officials and criminals have also used the DB branch to smuggle stolen tax revenues out of the country. (Photo: Jens Noergaard Larsen / Reuters)

Denmark's largest financial institution, Danske Bank (DB), reportedly helped raise funds worth 53 billion Danish kroner. (8.2 billion francs). This doubles the magnitude of the biggest money laundering scandal still known in Europe. Until now, the volume was 25 billion dkr. valued. The Danish newspaper Berlingske bases its latest revelations on documents from about 20 companies that held accounts with the Estonian subsidiary DB between 2007 and 2015.

Putin's relatives, tax officials, merchants Arms

In 2006, when the Danish bank Sampo Bank took over ownership of the Danes, the center of a scandal was published last year by the Berlingske. A whistleblower reportedly informed the head office in 2013 of the fraudulent activity in Estonia, but it remained passive. The insider believed that the Baltic branch knew that there were "ostentatious customers" behind several business accounts that were used to handle suspicious payments. Among them should have been members of Putin's family and members of the FSB intelligence service; Igor Putin, a cousin of the president, is mentioned by name. The whistleblower suspected that the Estonian bank itself was involved in criminal machinations and actively participated in money laundering.

According to Berlingske's recent revelations, Russian officials and criminals also used the DB branch to smuggle stolen tax revenues out of the country. Customers from Russia and the former Soviet republics were not only welcome, but a New Zealand company allegedly laundered money from an illegal arms market between North Korea and North Korea. Iran in Estonia, as announced last week

. Minister of Economy Rasmus Jarlov speaks of a "spot on the Danish banking sector" and announced Wednesday that the Financial Services Authority would investigate the latest revelations about the DB scandal. Among other things, Jarlov wants to know the extent of the illegal trade and what Enke Bank has learned from it. In the media is on a profit of half a billion dkr. speculated. In retrospect, one understands why DB's business in Estonia has been disproportionately profitable for years.

In May, the Danish regulator blamed Danske Bank for reacting too late and insufficiently to suspicions of money laundering. However, she looked away from the buses or a lawsuit, which earned her fierce criticism. Shortly before, the chief financial officer had resigned; He held the CFO position at Danske Bank between 2009 and 2012. In December, the bank was fined the equivalent of CHF 2 million for insufficient measures to prevent money laundering. Danske Bank is conducting an internal investigation into the events in Estonia, the results of which should be known by September.