New York authorities open investigation into Swedbank – report
US authorities have opened an investigation into under-fire Swedish bank Swedbank over suspicions it misled them over its customers’ ties to the infamous law firm Mossack Fonseca.
Broadcaster SVT reported today that the New York State Department of Financial Services asked Swedbank in 2018 and 2016 for information on all contacts its customers had with the firm which was propelled to global fame with the release of the Panama Papers.
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The department said it had requested information on all the global operations of Swedbank, according to a letter seen by SVT.
“It appears that [the] response may be incomplete, as it does not appear to apply to the ‘global operations of Swedbank’, and instead excludes responsive information relating to parents, subsidiaries or other affiliates of Swedbank,” the DFS said in a letter to the bank’s New York boss.
The letter also demands that Swedbank hand over documents about its relations with Danske Bank, which was caught up in a money-laundering scandal last year. Similar demands have been placed on its relationship with three other banks hit by money-laundering allegations: Ukio Bankas, ABLV and FBME, the broadcaster reported.
In a statement to SVT, Swedbank said it is “restricted by applicable laws to comment on the existence or the content of any potential confidential communication with the New York State Department of Financial Services.”
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“Swedbank is fully cooperative and communicates clearly, correctly and with good faith with all relevant authorities.”
The investigation into the bank reportedly started just after SVT’s investigative flagship show Uppdrag Granskning released its allegations of money laundering at Swedbank last month.