Estonia arrests 10 over Danske Bank money laundering involving Azerbaijan and Georgia
Ten former employees of the Estonian branch of Danske Bank have been detained in connection with a probe into a major money laundering scandal, The Associated Press reported.
Estonian Prosecutor General Lavly Perling said Wednesday the employees were mainly Danske Bank client managers suspected of knowingly assisting large-scale money laundering that involved Azerbaijan and Georgia. One of the persons is suspected also of taking bribes, another of abetting bribes.
"These people were mostly customer relationship managers whose job it was to notify of money laundering cases, to prevent them," Perling told a news conference.
All ten are suspected of knowingly helping Danske Bank customers to transfer dirty money. Personal assets in excess of one million euros obtained through criminal activity have been confiscated from the suspects by court order.
Wednesday's case deals with two separate criminal schemes that allegedly took place between 2011 and 2013. One dealt with financial fraud in Georgia and another with tax fraud in Azerbaijan, Prosecutor Marek Vahing said.