Danske Bank Cleared of U.S. Sanctions Liability for Estonia Scandal

By Dylan Tokar

The U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions watchdog has closed an investigation into a money-laundering scandal at Danske Bank A/S's Estonia branch, the Danish lender said.

The closure of the probe by the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which is responsible for civil enforcement of U.S. sanctions, doesn't signal an end to legal woes stemming from the Estonia scandal.

Danske came under investigation for money laundering after admitting that it failed to appropriately vet about $230 billion in transfers by non-Estonians through its branch in Tallinn, Estonia, primarily by Russians, between 2007 and 2015.

Danske remains under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and by criminal law enforcement and regulatory agencies in Denmark and France, the bank said in a statement issued Saturday.

OFAC didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

News of the sanctions probe's closure came in the form of a letter from OFAC, Danske said. The decision doesn't preclude the watchdog from taking future action if new information comes to light, the bank said.

Write to Dylan Tokar at dylan.tokar@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 21, 2020 11:57 ET (16:57 GMT)

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