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Nordea reported to Denmark investigators over money laundering

The Local Denmark
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Nordea reported to Denmark investigators over money laundering
Photo: Sarah Christine Nørgaard/Ritzau Scanpix

Denmark’s State Prosecutor for Serious Economic and International Crime (Statsadvokaten For Særlig Økonomisk og International Kriminalitet, SØIK) has received a report of possible money laundering at Nordea.

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SØIK confirmed via Twitted that a complaint had been filed against Nordea, the largest financial group in the Nordic countries.

“We can confirm that we have received a report regarding Nordea, which we already have a file open on. We will, of course, look thoroughly through at the evidence sent to us, and will coordinate with relevant authorities abroad,” SØIK wrote.

The news comes as investigations continue in several countries into a major case of money laundering through the Estonian branch of Danske Bank, the largest lender in Denmark.

Norway’s economic crime investigation service, Økokrim, has also confirmed it has received a complaint against Nordea, Ritzau writes.

In Sweden, Ekobrottsmyndigheten, the equivalent state investigator for economic crime, said that it had received a complaint against a major bank, which it did not name.

The complainant was on Tuesday identified as Hermitage Capital Management in a report by Danish newspaper Børsen. The hedge fund sent papers identifying what it believes to be suspicious transfers valuing over 175 million dollars (1.1 billion Danish kroner), Børsen writes. The money is reported to have been transferred to 365 different accounts at Nordea banks in the Nordic countries.

Nordea said on Wednesday that it was aware of the reports but was unable to comment due to customer confidentiality principles. The bank said it would cooperate with authorities in all countries in which it operates.

“As part of our daily work to prevent economic crime, we monitor customer activity on an ongoing basis,” the bank told Ritzau via email.

“In cases in which we assess transactions to be suspicious, we report them to authorities,” Nordea, which received in 2015 a fine to the value of 36 million Danish kroner from Swedish authorities for breaching money laundering regulations, added.

Hermitage Capital Management is also a key player in the Danske Bank scandal. The fund's owner, William Browder, has been highly critical of the Danish lender and filed complaints against the bank and its employees to authorities.

READ ALSO: Moody's downgrades Danske bank ratings over money-laundering probe

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