Nordea faces nearly €1 billion fine in Danish money laundering case

The largest Scandinavian bank, Nordea from Finland, may have to pay nearly 1 billion euros in fines for laundering dirty Russian money, reports Bloomberg. The case is being heard in a Danish court.

As pointed out, the regulatory authorities stated that in determining the penalties, they took into account not only the period during which the violations occurred but also the subsequent years until Nordea improved its customer and transaction verification system.

This unprecedented case could result in a fine of 6.5 billion Danish kroner ($943 million). Denmark accused the Finnish bank of violating national anti-money laundering regulations from 2012 to 2015. During that time, transactions worth $3 billion were processed. These transactions were largely linked to Russians and carried out by 25 clients.

Bloomberg highlights that Nordea set aside 95 million euros ($100 million) for the penalty, believing that the regulations in effect during the transactions will be considered during the trial. However, the Danish unit, NSK (National Special Crime Unit), is seeking a much harsher penalty based on the latest regulations.

A Nordea spokesperson responded that the bank expects a fine but "disagrees with the authorities' assessment." They added that the charges pertain to issues over 10 years old and should be evaluated according to the regulations in effect at that time.

Denmark adopted new anti-money laundering regulations in 2019. According to Bloomberg, courts can impose a fine equal to one-fourth of suspicious transactions passing through a given bank.

Nordea Bank's assets exceeded 570 billion euros ($599 billion) in 2021.