The Nordea Bank Group is one of the largest European banking groups with its HQ in Stockholm, Sweden. Nordea is one of Top 50 banks with largest capitalization in the world and ranked the 24th most reliable bank. Nordea’s client base is 11 million served at over 1,000 branches and offices. For more details see: www.nordea.com.
The finances and budget controlling service (FSA) of Sweden fined the largest bank in Scandinavia, Nordea AB, and ordered to pay 30 million kronas ($4.7 million) for failing to prevent money laundering. The banking group is fined for opening an account for the Gibraltar-registered Takilant, Wall Street Journal reports.
Background: Swedish attorneys suspect Takilant is involved in a case of bad faith deal between Swedish-Finnish TeliaSonera and the Uzbek government. The owner of TeliaSonera, the Uzbek citizen Ms. Avane Avakyan, has direct links with Uzbek President’s daughter – Gulnara Karimova, European journalists write. Some sources say Ms. Avakyan is “Karimova’s closest ally, aware of all her financial affairs.”
FSA maintains the Nordea did not check the Takilant account owners’ reliability, which was a violation of the EU-adopted security procedures and norms. The bank is also reprimanded for failing to provide sufficient reporting to the FSA on frozen accounts.
FSA Executive Director Uldis Cerps states that Uzbekistan is one of Top 10 corrupt nations in the world, according to Transparency International, “by the number of residents of this country who factually own securities registered under others’ names. Therefore, a large $20 million deposit into the Takilant account must have raised red flags for Nordea. The bank had to step up inspection of the account owners.”
The bank did not object the financial institution’s ruling.
“We do share the FSA’s opinion,” Nordea press secretary Helena Ostman said. “We were to be more vigilant about Takilant documents.”
Takilant opened an account in a Nordea branch in Sweden in 2011. By the autumn of 2012, the bank froze the Takilant account in compliance with the prosecutor’s office’s ruling and introduced stricter rules on opening and keeping accounts with the bank.
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