Nordic bank Nordea has been charged in Denmark with laundering around €3.5 billion from its Russian clients between 2012 and 2015, according to the financial prosecutor’s office.
The National Specialised Unit for Crime (NSK) said, “Nordea did not adequately investigate the bank’s Russian clients’ transactions and ignored warnings about foreign exchange transactions in Copenhagen.”
The indictment covers transactions totalling just over 26 billion krones (approximately €3.5 billion).
The prosecutor’s office asserts this is the largest money-laundering case in Danish history. However, the trial date has not yet been made public.
Anticipating a fine, Nordea had set aside funds in 2019. Its chief legal officer, Anders Holkmann Olsen, said the bank was disappointed that the case was being taken to court.
“Nordea has recognised on several occasions that there were shortcomings in our systems and processes for combating financial crime at that time,” Olsen admitted in a statement.
The bank also claimed to have invested 11 billion krones in fighting financial crime since 2015.
No indictments relate to individuals.
Nordea, headquartered in Finland, experienced an 18% increase in its net profit in 2023, which amounted to €4.9 billion. The bank is the largest in the Nordic countries.
