Danske Bank pleads guilty in US money laundering scandal

US-based Danish bank Danske has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud in one of the world’s biggest money-laundering scandals. In addition, the bank agreed to pay two billion dollars (1.89 billion euros) in fines on Tuesday, according to the US Department of Justice.

The bank admitted to defrauding US banks between 2008 and 2016. According to prosecutors, Danske’s Estonian office, among others, had the opportunity to transfer large amounts of money to Russian clients without much supervision. About $212 billion flowed through the U.S. financial system from these customers through the branch that later closed. According to US officials, Danske employees used shell companies to hide ownership of the funds. Accordingly, Danske has known about the illegal transactions since at least 2014.