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Money laundering chief Altaf Khanani exchanged suspicious large sums for accounts at Danske Bank’s scandalous Estonian branch through one of its central companies, the Danish newspaper Berlingske Tidende writes late Sunday.
Danmarks Radio also has access to the documents and has covered the case.
The case is part of the so-called Fincen Files, leaked documents from the United States Financial Supervisory Authority, Fincen.
The initiative is led by the international journalists’ organization ICIJ and the US online newspaper Buzzfeed. More than 400 journalists in 88 countries are in the process of publishing news based on the leaks.
Negotiated with Dubai company
According to the US authorities, the Pakistani Khanani has laundered money for organized criminals, drug traffickers and terrorist organizations around the world. He has been incarcerated since 2015 in the United States, after cooperating with authorities and entering into a so-called plea deal. In such an agreement, the parties agree on the issue of guilt and punishment, which is then sanctioned by a judge.
According to Berlingske, recent documents show, among other things, that a client of the Danske Bank branch, which according to the newspaper has hidden owners and a straw man director, exchanged millions with the Dubai-registered company Mazaka General Trading, which the US authorities have linked Khanani.
Khanani just got out of jail. Her lawyer refuses to answer questions to Berlingske’s partner Süddeutsche Zeitung:
Khanani pleaded guilty and served a lengthy sentence.
According to the lawyer, Khanani lives in poverty and is prevented by US sanctions, so he does not have the opportunity to earn money.
Thus, recent documents show more about who traded through the Estonian branch of Danske Bank, where it is suspected that up to 2 billion NOK may have been laundered over eight years.
According to DR, Fincen’s papers also link accounts at Danske Bank in Estonia with the Russian Igor Marakin, who in turn, according to US authorities, is linked to the Russian mafia organization Brother’s Circle and is involved in drug trafficking and shootings. between bands.
– No no no. I don’t know where you got this from. I don’t know what it’s about and I don’t want to answer, Marakin tells DR.
Another customer will be arms dealer Lurii Lunov, US newspapers show, according to DR. Neither Lunov nor his attorney have responded to DR’s questions.
Experts Berlingske and DR have spoken to point out that the new papers show more about who the clients of the Estonian branch were, and that they were criminals with the intention of committing a crime.
– We have a very clear example of what happens when these criminal networks function without resistance from the bank, says Professor Eleni Tsingou from Copenhagen Business School to the DR.
Danske Økokrim have no comments:
– This is a broad investigation. These are transactions that can be part of criminal money laundering in the amount of more than billions based on the Estonian branch of Danske Bank. As the investigation is still ongoing, SØIK cannot comment on the details of the investigation, the Danish environmental crime authorities SØIK wrote in a comment to Berlingske.
Up to 2,000 Billion Washes
The money laundering scandal at Danske Bank was revealed in September 2018. Norwegian Thomas Borgen, who for more than 20 years has held several key roles in one of the largest banks in the Nordic region, then voluntarily resigned at the same time. that the bank’s internal investigation report was presented.
At that time, he brought self-criticism to DN.
– When should you have done something different? Is there anything you regret?
– Oh yeah. It is empty. In retrospect, there are three things in particular that I should have done differently, says Borgen:
– I was responsible for all international activities from 2009 to 2012. Now I have seen that I should spend more time in the Baltic countries. I did not spend time with it because it was a very small business compared to the other we had. The second thing you should have done is get closer to the actual close, and the third thing you should have done is start an in-depth investigation.
Thomas Borgen does not want to comment on the case.
10,000 foreign clients
At the center of the scandal is a separate branch in the Estonian branch Danske Bank. Here, around 10,000 Russians and other foreigners have had their accounts, where, among other things, they have received money transfers and have traded currencies, bonds and stocks. This department accounts for the majority of earnings in Estonia.
According to the researchers, amounts corresponding to more than 1.9 billion Norwegian crowns entered the accounts of these clients in the period 2007-2015. More than 6,000 customer relationships have been investigated, and most are described as “suspicious.”
The money laundering scandal at Danske Bank is by far the largest ever to hit a Nordic or European bank. After it emerged that the bank’s Estonian branch was used to funnel several billion kronor to Russia and other Eastern Bloc countries, the bank has been at the center of investigations in Estonia, the United States, and other countries. .
In Estonia, since December 2018, prosecutors have been investigating two possible cases related to the scandal, which concern criminal acts in Georgia and Azerbaijan. According to Berlingske, who revealed the scandal, the cash flow in the two cases, which in 2018 was roughly DKK 2.2 billion, has now risen to DKK 13 billion.
At the same time, Estonian prosecutors confirmed to the Danish newspaper that the Estonian police no longer examine two, but ten criminal cases.
– Of course, we continue to cooperate with all relevant authorities, and we make available to investigators as well as the knowledge that we have. As we said above, we should never have had the now closed portfolio of non-resident Estonian clients, Danske Bank has previously written in response to the case.
Danske Bank can expect clarification of fines in the US during the year, according to Bloomberg.
The bank has admitted that a large part of the money that flowed through the Estonian branch from 2007 to 2015 is suspicious. Because the bank is involved in dollar currency transactions, the case is automatically covered by US law, and here the fines for money laundering are particularly high.(Terms)Copyright Dagens Næringsliv AS and / or our suppliers. We would like you to share our cases via a link, which leads directly to our pages. Copying or other use of all or part of the content can only be done with written permission or as permitted by law. For more terms, see here.
