Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

CRIME

Ex-CEO of Swedish bank to face trial over money-laundering scandal

The sacked CEO of Swedish banking giant Swedbank is set to face trial on fraud and market manipulation charges.

Published: 5 January 2022 07:39 CET
Ex-CEO of Swedish bank to face trial over money-laundering scandal
Former Swedbank CEO Birgitte Bonnesen, here pictured in 2019, denies the allegations. Photo: Janerik Henriksson/TT

Birgitte Bonnesen was fired in 2019 following allegations that the bank engaged in money-laundering in the Baltic state of Estonia.

Authorities believe Bonnesen attempted to cover up money-laundering by the bank in Sweden by diffusing “intentionally or by aggravated negligence (…) false information about the bank’s measures to prevent, detect, block and signal suspicions about money-laundering in (its) operations,” the prosecutor in charge of the investigation, Thomas Langrot, said in a statement.

In 2019, a documentary made by an investigative news programme for Swedish broadcaster SVT alleged that at least 40 billion kronor ($4.4 billion) of suspicious transactions had been channelled to Baltic countries from Swedbank accounts.

Bonnesen’s position as Swedbank’s chief executive became untenable following the allegations and she was fired.

Sweden’s financial regulator the following year fined the bank some 360 million euros and warned it to follow anti-money-laundering laws.

Bonnesen’s lawyer said she denies all of the charges against her.

The aggravated fraud charge carries a jail term of up to six years.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

CRIME

Stockholm court fines Greta Thunberg over parliament climate protest

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was handed a fine for disobeying police orders after blocking access to Sweden's parliament during a protest.

Published: 8 May 2024 17:00 CEST
Stockholm court fines Greta Thunberg over parliament climate protest

Police removed Thunberg on March 12th and 14th after she refused to leave the main entrance, where she was protesting with a small group of activists for several days. MPs could still access the building via secondary entrances.

The court said it fined the activist 6,000 Swedish kronor ($551) and ordered her to pay 1,000 kronor in damages and interest.

Thunberg denied the charges of two counts of civil disobedience, according to an AFP journalist at the hearing.

Asked by the judge why she had not obeyed police orders, she replied: “Because there was a (climate) emergency and there still is. And in an emergency, we all have a duty to act.”

“The current laws protect the extractive industries instead of protecting people and the planet, which is what I believe should be the case,” she said as she left the courtroom.

Thunberg has been fined twice before in Sweden, in July and October 2023, for civil disobedience during similar protests.

In February, a London judge dropped charges against her for disturbing the peace during a demonstration against the oil industry in October in the British capital.

SHOW COMMENTS