Nordea has reached a resolution with the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) concerning its anti-money laundering (AML) procedures from 2008 to 2019. The agreement involves Nordea paying a fine of USD 35 million, which will be recorded as a cost in the company's Q3 2024 financial results. This settlement is not expected to materially affect Nordea's financial position.
The DFS investigation focused on Nordea's past processes and controls for preventing money laundering, including those at the now-closed Vesterport International Branch in Denmark and former operations in the Baltics. Nordea has cooperated fully with DFS throughout this process and believes that this resolution concludes the investigation by DFS. The bank is unaware of any other ongoing investigations by US authorities related to these historical issues.
Jamie Graham, Chief Compliance Officer at Nordea Group, stated: “Following a close ongoing dialogue and cooperation since 2019, we are pleased to conclude and close this matter with DFS. As previously acknowledged, historically we underestimated the complexity of preventing financial crime and the resources needed for that purpose. In recent years we have invested heavily in our AML programme, and the fight against financial crime is a key priority for Nordea.”
Graham added: “We do everything we can to prevent financial crime and the bank has taken significant measures to improve financial crime processes and procedures since the period covered by DFS’s investigation. We are pleased that these remediation efforts and our extensive cooperation were also recognised by DFS.”
In recent years, Nordea has enhanced its capabilities to combat financial crime significantly. Since 2015, approximately EUR 1.5 billion has been invested in risk and compliance areas. Over 3,400 employees are dedicated solely to fighting money laundering and other types of financial crimes. The bank has introduced new policies and controls designed to strengthen its AML compliance program, implemented advanced prevention techniques monitoring over 3.4 billion transactions last year, and provided continuous training for all employees.