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LEAKS: A new leak of thousands of documents reveals, among other things, that major banks are moving huge sums of money for scammers, gangsters and other suspicious customers. At least one billion crowns can be used for various DNB accounts, writes Aftenposten. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB scanpix
A new leak of thousands of US documents shows how major banks warn of suspicious transactions, but continue to help the same customers.
It is the international network of journalists ICIJ that has obtained information about the leak. Aftenposten is the only Norwegian newspaper that has access to the leak, which consists of 2,100 suspicious transaction reports that the banks themselves have sent to the US authorities.
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 themselves have reported this to authorities in suspicious transaction reports, often abbreviated as MT reports. But after the notice is sent, they continue to help the same customers, Aftenposten writes.
The leak does not reveal how authorities have handled the alerts. Therefore, there is no basis to say whether they describe crimes or not.
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 two trillion transactions (two million) between 1999 and 2017, which financial institutions marked as suspicious.
Just because banks have flagged them as suspects does not necessarily mean that there is criminal activity or other objectionable circumstances behind the transactions.
DNB
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.
At least one billion crowns can be used for various DNB accounts, writes Aftenposten. The money is suspected of being linked to money laundering, corruption, terrorist financing and other economic crimes.
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. Therefore, we are also unable to disclose which cases we have reported to Økokrim. This is what is called a disclosure prohibition in the Money Laundering Act. 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.
According to Aftenposten, the money was sent to and from DNB’s clients in Norway and abroad. The Lithuanian branch and the London branch are the most frequently reported, and the clients are mostly companies. Many are registered in so-called tax havens. Others have addresses in countries that are associated with a high risk of financial crime.
Transactions through DNB are said to have occurred primarily between 2015 and 2017. Some transfers date back to 2008. Transfers range from very small amounts to $ 23 million.
Danish bank
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.
