France thinks over re-investigation of the Danske Bank case



01/14/2019 11:55 AM


A French court is considering the possibility of re-investigating the case of Danske Bank A/S, the largest bank in Denmark, about money laundering through its Estonian unit.



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As stated in a press release from Danske Bank, in January of this year, it received a call for questioning by a judge of the Paris Tribunal in order to discuss the current state of affairs.

About a year ago, the French authorities changed the status of Danske Bank from the organization involved in the investigation to a witness. However, this decision may now be reversed, and the bank may again get under investigation.

In the letter of the French judge, it was also noted that the scope of the investigation was expanded, and additional transactions totaling 28 million euros from 2007–2014 were included in it.

On Thursday, January 10, the founder of the Hermitage Capital fund, William Browder, told the Danish parliamentarians that the bank’s employees “openly lied” to the French authorities investigating its involvement in money laundering schemes.

"We do not believe that we provided the French authorities with incorrect information. On the contrary, it is obvious that it is in our interest to obtain the most accurate picture of what happened in Estonia," Danske Bank said in a statement.

At the same time, informed sources told the Financial Times that understanding of what was happening in Estonia has changed over the past year the.

Earlier, large-scale money laundering cases were discovered through the Estonian branch of Danske Bank. In particular, 201 billion euros passed through this department in 2007-2015, the origin of these funds raises questions. The scandal led to the resignation of the head of the Danish bank, Thomas Borgen.

The authorities of Denmark, Estonia, the United Kingdom and the United States are already conducting their own investigations against Danske Bank.

source: ft.com


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