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It is the international network of journalists ICIJ that has obtained information about the leak. Aftenposten is the only Norwegian newspaper to have access to the leak, which consists of 2,100 suspicious transaction reports.
According to the newspaper, the documents show that the largest banks in the US approve money transfers even though they do not know who the client is and help clients involved in cases of public fraud and corruption.
Banks notify authorities about suspicious transactions, but after the notification is sent, they continue to help the same customers, Aftenposten writes.
The major banks named in the case say they are not authorized to answer transaction or customer questions.
Wide collaboration
It was the American news website Buzzfeed that initially took over the leak and later shared it with ICIJ. In total, a team of more than 400 journalists from 110 outlets in 88 countries has worked to examine the documents.
Investigations have shown that the documents mention more than 2 trillion transactions (two million million) between 1999 and 2017, which were flagged as suspicious by financial institutions.
Just because banks have flagged them as suspects does not necessarily mean that there is criminal activity or other objectionable circumstances behind the transactions.
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DNB accounts involved
The case includes transactions that have taken place between banks around the world, with some of them going to and from Norwegian DNB customers in Norway and abroad, according to the newspaper.
US banks have reported suspicious transfers of NOK 1 billion through various DNB accounts.
DNB itself has sent several thousand reports to Økokrim in recent years. However, because MT’s reports are secret, the bank cannot answer whether, like US banks, they have reported the breach transactions.
– Banks are prohibited from mentioning money laundering reports, so unfortunately we cannot comment on the handling of specific payments. But it often happens that a payment that raises an alarm in one country can also raise an alarm in another country such as Norway, Executive Vice President of Communications Thomas Midteide at DNB tells NTB.
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Drug dealers and gangster groups
Danish media write that suspected billions have also been sent via Danske Bank in Estonia, which according to Politiken shows that the money laundering case at Danske Bank is bigger and more serious than previously known.
Among other things, bank warnings in the United States show that Danske Bank has provided services to drug dealers, arms dealers and gangster groups, according to the Danish news agency Ritzau.
Berlingske has previously disclosed that up to 1,500 billion suspicious crowns have been sent through Danske Bank’s Estonian branch. Subsequently, the department has been closed.
Danske Bank does not want to comment on the information to Politiken because it is part of the authorities’ investigation into the scandal, but admits that it has been too long before they recognize the magnitude of the problems.
(© NTB)
