Nordea faces a potential €1bn fine for laundering Russian money

The largest Scandinavian bank, Nordea from Finland, may have to pay nearly 1 billion euros in fines for laundering dirty Russian money, reports Bloomberg agency. The case is being heard in a Danish court.

Regulatory authorities state that they considered the period during which the violations occurred and the subsequent years until Nordea improved its customer and transaction verification system in determining the penalties.

This unprecedented case could result in a fine of 6.5 billion Danish kroner (£822 million). Denmark accused the Finnish bank of violating national anti-money laundering regulations from 2012 to 2015. During that time, transactions worth £2.48 billion were processed. These transactions were largely linked to Russians and were carried out by 25 clients.

Bloomberg highlights that Nordea set aside 95 million euros (£83 million) for the penalty, believing that the regulations in effect during the transactions will be considered during the trial. However, the Danish unit, NSK (National Special Crime Unit), is seeking a much harsher penalty based on the latest regulations.

A Nordea spokesperson responded that the bank expects a fine but disagrees with the authorities' assessment. They added that the charges pertain to issues over 10 years old and should be evaluated according to the regulations in effect at that time.

Denmark adopted new anti-money laundering regulations in 2019. According to Bloomberg, courts can impose a fine equal to one-fourth of suspicious transactions passing through a given bank.

Nordea Bank's assets exceeded 570 billion euros (£492 billion) in 2021.