The United States Justice Department said on Tuesday that Danske Bank A/S pleaded guilty to providing services to high-risk customers in Estonia despite confirming the possibility of money laundering.
The largest bank in Denmark confirmed participating in the fraud by enabling its customers residing outside Estonia to access the US banking system, and agreed to forfeit $2 billion to resolve the investigation. The bank lied about its anti-money laundering systems, the department confirmed in a statement posted on its website.
"Today's guilty plea by Danske Bank and $2 billion penalty demonstrate that the Department of Justice will fiercely guard the integrity of the US financial system from tainted foreign money - Russian or otherwise," Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco noted.