Danske Bank A/S
Inside information

Danske Bank placed under AML investigation in France







Company announcement      Group Communications
Announcement No. 53/2017  Holmens Kanal 2-12  
                          DK-1092 København K 
                          11 October 2017     



              Danske Bank placed under AML investigation in France

                                        

                                        

Danske Bank A/S has today been placed under investigation by the French
Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris court in relation to suspicions of money
laundering concerning transactions carried out by customers of Danske Bank
Estonia from 2008 to 2011. 



“The investigation refers to events that took place years ago at Danske Bank
Estonia. The investigation relates to transactions in the amount of around EUR
15 million, which were transferred to France during 2008-2011 by former
customers at Danske Bank Estonia,” says Flemming Pristed, Group General
Counsel. “The customers were part of the portfolio of foreign customers at
Danske Bank Estonia (non-resident customers), and we have since then terminated
all accounts in that portfolio. We are not presently in a position to say
whether the amounts came from illegal activities, and we do not wish to comment
on the specific case as long as it is being investigated.” 



The transactions are included in Danske Bank’s ongoing investigation of the
situation at its Estonian branch, as described in the press release dated 21
September 2017. The investigation covers customers and transactions in the
period from 2007 to 2015. Naturally, we will cooperate with the relevant
authorities in the investigation and will report any findings. 



This is the notification in English:



“We have notified the legal entity Danske Bank A/S that it is placed under
investigation for the following facts: 



Organised laundering of tax evasion and frauds: For having assisted in France
and abroad (in particular in Estonia) from 1 January 2008 until 22 July 2011
(date of [company name] account closure) in multiple transactions consisting in
investing, hiding, or converting the direct or indirect proceeds of crimes by
opening pass-through accounts in order to receive money from organised fraud
and tax evasion, and by allowing these accounts to be debited with multiple
transactions carried out in the context of set-off mechanisms without any
economic justification, in the amount of about 15 million EURO [14 customer
names left out], the facts having been committed in an organised manner and
through multiple agents, these transactions having no other aim but to hide the
final destination of the defrauded funds and to benefit from them abroad after
laundering of the funds in opaque circuits. 

Facts punished by articles 324-1, 324-2, 324-3, 324-4, 324-7, 324-8 and 324-9
of the Criminal Code.” 





                                        

                                  Danske Bank







Contact: Kenni Leth, Group Press Officer, tel. +45 45 14 14 00