Danske expects a fine for money laundering case - dividends have been suspended

Danske Bank has stated that it expects authorities to levy a potential "material" fine in connection with the bank's Estonian money laundering scandal.

As a result, the lender announced that no dividends will be paid in the first quarter of 2022.

Danske said it was in "initial discussions with US and Danish authorities on resolution of the Estonian matter" in a statement.

The bank's Board of Directors decided not to pay dividends in conjunction with the release of the interim report for the first quarter of 2022, according to the bank.

"To ensure a prudent capital management with a high degree of flexibility in light of the Estonia matter, the bank has communicated its intention to pay out dividends for 2021 subject to the usual assessment of the bank’s capital position at the end of each interim period," Danske said.

According to the bank, it was "not yet able to reliably estimate the timing, form of resolution or amount of a potential settlement or fines, which is likely to be material, and will not comment on discussions with authorities."

Following a multi-billion euro money laundering scandal in its Estonian branch, authorities in the United States, Denmark, France, and Estonia are investigating Danske.

Between 2007 and 2015, an alleged €200BN was allegedly funneled through the now-defunct Estonian branch.

It comes just a week after the lender was hit with a 10 million Danish Kroner (€1.3 million) fine for GDPR data storage violations.

By fLEXI tEAM