Birgita Bonnesen, a former head of the Swedbank Group, has been charged with fraud and market manipulation in connection with her comments on money laundering at a Swedbank subsidiary in Estonia, the Swedish Economic Crime Agency said on Tuesday.
The allegations are linked to Bonnesen’s statements in 2018 and 2019, when the media reported suspicions of money laundering at Swedbank in Estonia, while Bonnesen told reporters and investors that the bank was under control to prevent money laundering.
“The crime is that the former head of the bank intentionally or through gross negligence disseminated misleading information to the public or shareholders of the company about the measures taken by the bank to prevent, detect and report suspected money laundering to Swedbank in Estonia,” Thomas Langrot, Chief Prosecutor of the Economic Crimes Department.
Bonnesen’s lawyer has stated that the former head of the Swedbank group does not plead guilty to the charges.
The start date of the lawsuit has not yet been set.
It has already been reported that Bonnesen, who has been President of the Swedbank Group since 2016, was fired in March 2019 after Swedbank announced that it was under investigation for anti-money laundering violations in its Baltic subsidiaries. .
In March 2021, the Swedish banking regulator fined Swedbank SEK 4 billion (EUR 360 million at the then exchange rate) for shortcomings in its internal control systems and governance.
An investigation in Sweden found that Swedbank had serious shortcomings in its money laundering risk management in its Baltic facilities. The Bank’s awareness of the risk of money laundering and its processes, methods and control systems has been insufficient. The structures of the Baltic States also did not have adequate resources to fight money laundering.
The investigation revealed that Swedbank was aware of possible money laundering activities in the Baltic States. Despite several internal and external reports warning of shortcomings in the Baltic structures and the risk of money laundering, the bank has not acted appropriately.
An investigation in Estonia found that Swedbank in Estonia had significant weaknesses in its money laundering risk control systems and that the bank had not complied with anti-money laundering requirements.
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