The Danish bank deceived US banks about its Estonia branch’s illegal money laundering control measures in order to facilitate access to the US financial system for high-risk customers outside Estonia, including Russia, it says the ministry.
“Danske Bank’s guilty plea and $2 billion fine demonstrate that the Justice Department will zealously protect the integrity of the US financial system from dirty foreign money, whether it comes from Russia or elsewhere,” he said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.
Last year, the bank admitted that some 200 billion euros had passed through bank accounts between 2007 and 2015, the origin of which it believes to be suspicious. Much of it was “dirty” money from Russia.
The scandal came to light in 2018.
The Estonian branch of ‘Danske Bank’ had a profitable business with non-resident customers who were lured by the bank by claiming they could transfer large sums of money through this bank with almost no supervision, according to the US Department of Justice.
Employees of “Danske Bank” have collaborated with these clients to hide the true nature of their transactions, including using shell companies to hide the real owners, the ministry said.
The ministry says the Estonian branch of ‘Danske Bank’ processed $160 billion through US banks on behalf of non-resident customers.
