Compliance
US Authorities Probe More Banks Over Baltic AML Saga - Report
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More banks, including two large US lenders, have been contacted about the matter, a report said.
Deutsche Bank and Bank of America have been contacted by US
criminal investigators for information about transactions they
handled for a small bank branch in Estonia that’s at the center
of a major money-laundering case, according to American
Banker. Authorities are checking details
around one of the biggest money-laundering investigations in
history.
The Justice Department investigators have also asked questions
about JPMorgan’s work with the branch, another person was quoted
as saying. (The story was originally published in
Bloomberg.)
This publication has contacted JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank and
Bank of
America. All three banks declined to comment.
The report said that these banks were correspondent banks for the
Tallinn, Estonia, branch of Danske Bank that is the focus of
multiple international investigations. The Danish lender
acknowledged that the branch moved nearly a quarter trillion
dollars’ worth of cash into the global financial system, much of
it from potentially illicit activity in Russia. It used the three
banks’ global presence to convert foreign cash into US dollars on
behalf of its clients from 2007 to as recently as 2015, the
report said.
The examination of whether the big banks gave appropriate
scrutiny to the Estonia transactions is one aspect of a broader
Danske Bank investigation being led by the US Justice Department
in Washington and prosecutors from the Manhattan US attorney's
office, the report added.
Danske’s AML woes – which have led to the resignation of its
chief executive, Thomas Borgen, have prompted calls within the
European Union for tougher measures to thwart money
laundering.