Scandinavia - Money Laundering: Why Scandinavian Banks’ Clean Reputations Are Threatened by Dirty Money - by Jack Ewing

 Scandinavia has long had a reputation as one of the most progressive regions in the world, known for generous parental leaves, bicycle superhighways and Abba.

So it has been a shock to see Scandinavian banks mired in a growing money laundering scandal, accused of helping Russian oligarchs, corrupt politicians and organized crime lords send hundreds of billions of ill-gotten dollars to offshore tax havens.

Danske Bank, the largest bank in Denmark, was caught first for suspicious activities at its subsidiary in Estonia and, in the past couple weeks, the scandal has spread to Swedbank and its subsidiaries in the Baltics. Swedbank’s chairman, Lars Idermark, resigned Friday, saying that the media storm surrounding the money laundering allegations was a distraction from his day job as chief executive of a forest products company.

Mr. Idermark’s exit came less than a week after the bank fired its chief executive, Birgitte Bonnesen, who had previously supervised Swedbank’s operations in the Baltic countries.

Read more: Why Scandinavian Banks’ Clean Reputations Are Threatened by Dirty Money - The New York Times