From Russia with love: dirty money rocks Nordic banks
Misgivings about Nordic banks have already wiped billions of dollars off their market values
Scandinavians are taking a hard look at their institutions as allegations of systematic money laundering rock the entire region. With Swedbank AB becoming the latest lender to get dragged into a dirty-money scandal that's already engulfed Danske Bank A/S, those at the top of Sweden's financial establishment are speaking out. Hans Lindblad, the director general of the Swedish National Debt Office, says the financial industry now risks losing the trust of the people. He says the consequences of that would be dire for the whole economy. Misgivings about Nordic banks have already wiped billions of dollars off their market values, with lenders in the region dragging down the entire European banking sector on Thursday. As the investigations pile up, a picture is emerging of a laundering pipeline that allowed crooks in the former Soviet Union to channel their money into the West with the help of Nordic and Baltic banks. The amounts involved are vast, and point to what may be the biggest di...
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