The CEO of Danske Bank, Thomas Borgen resigned on Wednesday after over 234 billion USD was alleged to have been laundered through the Estonian branch of the bank between the 2007 and 2015. Borgen said in a statement released to the press that, “It is clear that Danske Bank has failed to live up to its responsibility in the case of possible money laundering in Estonia. I deeply regret this”
After Danske Bank completed its investigation into the alleged money laundering case, it came to the conclusion that Thomas Borgen, Chairman Ole Anderson along with the board of directors ‘did not breach their legal obligations towards Danske Bank’. The Prime Minister of Denmark, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, had a few choice words to say about the Danske Bank’s money laundering allegation and stated, “ I’m shocked. The numbers that came out today are of an astronomical magnitude. It is, of course, deeply disappointing that a bank that I consider to be an important player for Denmark has become involved in this kind of activity.”
Danske Bank released a report delving into the internal investigation it conducted regarding the allegation. The report mentions, “Some 12,000 documents and more than 8 million emails have been searched, and more than 70 interviews have been conducted with current and former employees and managers…Overall, approximately 70 people have worked full time on the investigations.” In addition, the report states that approximately 6,200 high-risk customers have been examined, “and the vast majority of these customers have been deemed suspicious.”
Danske Bank went on to explain that it has re-adjusted its net profit for the year of 2018 to account for the donation is set to provide to an independent foundation amounting to over DKK 1.5 Billion. The bank clarified that it now estimates its net profit for the year 2018 to range from over 2.5 to 2.7 billion USD.
