European financial services group Nordea has been charged by Denmark’s Special Crime Unit (NSK) for breaching the country’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) act between 2012 and 2015. As provided by the Danish authorities, Nordea is alleged to have violated the AML law by inadequately conducting investigations on transactions done by Russian customers, as well as by discounting warnings about transactions involving currency exchange offices in Copenhagen.

However, the NSK did not find grounds to accuse individual persons in the case relating to transactions worth nearly USD 3.77 billion. Initially, the investigation into the bank’s AML procedures began in 2016, with Nordea making the provisions for expected fines. Moreover, in a statement regarding the NSK’s court proceedings, Nordea underlined that it did not agree with the legal assessment of authorities, with the bank having a position assisted by three external legal reviews. Also, Nordea mentioned that it is adequately provisioned considering the current conditions.

The bank stated that it has been collaborating transparently with the Danish authorities for nearly nine years and now awaits a decision by the courts. Danish authorities’ investigations into Nordea Back in 2015, the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority started a probe on whether Nordea complied with all applicable AML regulations when it came to imposing proper procedures for identifying and combating money laundering. Shortly after, in June 2016, the matter was referred to the Danish Prosecution for further investigation as per Danish practices.

Fast forward to June 2019, the country’s state prosecutor investigated the headquarters of Nordea, following additional developments in the bank’s money laundering case. At that time, the bank mentioned its plans to fully cooperate with prosecutors to ensure they had the necessary access to relevant information. Furthermore, in its current statement, the bank said that it invested in mitigating money laundering and other financial crimes, as well as that it works closely with the authorities to prohibit criminals and their activities. .