Regulators in Estonia have ordered Danske Bank to leave the country within eight months, arguing that the Danish bank’s $230 billion money-laundering scandal had tarnished the reputation of Estonia’s financial market, The New York Times reports.
Danske Bank, which is facing investigations by the United States Department of Justice and other authorities, said it would comply with the order. Additionally, Danske, the largest lender in Denmark, said it would stop offering banking services in Russia, Latvia and Lithuania as part of a previously announced move to focus on its core Nordic market.
An internal report by Danske revealed in September that the bank had failed for years to prevent suspected money laundering involving thousands of customers at its branch in Tallinn, Estonia. The report prompted Danske’s chief executive and chairman to step down. In December, the police in Estonia arrested 10 former Danske employees on charges that they had been involved in a network of money launderers.
The scandal “has dealt a serious blow to the transparency, credibility and reputation of the Estonian financial market,” Kilvar Kessler, the chairman of the management board of the Estonian financial regulator, said in a written statement ...
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