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Report: Danish Bank Executive Charged In Russia-Linked Money-Laundering Scandal


Thomas Borgen
Thomas Borgen

A Danish newspaper reported that prosecutors have charged a former chief executive of Danske Bank for his involvement in one of the world’s biggest money-laundering scandals.

The newspaper Borsen on May 7 quoted lawyer Peter Schradieck as saying that prosecutors raided the home of his client, Thomas Borgen, on March 12.

Borgen is the first person to be charged in a case that involves suspicious transactions of some 200 billion euros that passed through Danske Bank's Estonian branch between 2007 and 2015.

Danish regulators say the transactions involved nonresident accounts and that up to 35 percent of them were Russian. The second-largest number of nonresident accounts were from Britain.

Borgen, who had been in charge of Danske Bank's international operations between 2009 and 2012, resigned in September after an investigation uncovered the scale of the suspicious payments.

The bank -- Denmark’s largest -- is being investigated in several other countries, including the United States, where it could face major fines.

Denmark's state prosecutor filed preliminary charges against the bank itself in November for alleged violations of the country's anti-money-laundering laws.

The scandal has spread to Sweden, where Swedbank has dismissed its chief executive over allegations its Baltic accounts were used to launder money.

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