By Dan Byrne for AMLi
DANSKE BANK HAS moved swiftly to downplay reports in Danish media shedding more light on its infamous €200BN Estonia scandal.
Barely a day after prominent Danish newspaper Berlingske claimed to have uncovered new information regarding the identity of many high-risk clients attached to the scandal, Danske advised that the information in question should never have been shared publicly.
Furthermore, it maintained that it had previously been shared in full with all relevant authorities.
On Sunday, Berlingske claimed to have obtained an internal legal memo from early 2019 – claiming that hundreds of clients in Danske’s “scandal-ridden” Estonian portfolio were controlled by taxpayers and companies in the United States.
The information supported the notion that the bank had assisted with tax fraud, the newspaper said.
In a statement early Monday, Danske hit back at the report, saying that the document was an “external legal counsel’s confidential legal advice,” that it had received more than two years ago as part of its own investigation into the Estonia scandal.
It stressed that “all of these facts and findings have long since been shared with the authorities investigating the bank,” and that this included all findings made after the document was produced.
“As previously reported, we have since continued our investigations and regularly reported all material findings to the relevant authorities,” Philippe Vollot, Chief Compliance Officer at Danske Bank said Monday.
“This situation does not change the seriousness of the Estonia case or our regret for what happened.”
Vollot advised that the bank continues to cooperate with authorities not only in Denmark, but in France, Estonia and the United States also.
The bank was plunged into a state of crisis in the period 2017-2019, when it revealed that upwards of €200BN in potentially illicit funds were funnelled through its Estonian branch.
The fallout was enormous, including the complete closure of the branch in question and resignation of several senior management figures, including former CEO Thomas Borgen.
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