By Dominic Chopping


Nordea Bank is facing a court case in Denmark related to weak anti-money laundering controls, but a provision booked previously will be enough to cover any outcome, it said Friday.

Authorities investigated the bank's Danish unit nearly a decade ago, probing its compliance with anti-money laundering regulations in terms of having adequate processes to identify and combat money laundering.

This led to orders by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority to improve its know-your-customer and transaction monitoring procedures, with the matter then referred to the Danish Prosecution Service for further investigation and subsequently the Danish National Special Crime Unit has now announced that it will commence court proceedings and file a formal charge.

The bank had expected to be fined and booked a 95 million euro ($102.7 million) provision in 2019.

"Nordea does not agree with the legal assessment made by the authorities, a position supported by three separate external legal assessments, and maintains that the bank is adequately provisioned based on current circumstances," it said in a statement.

At 0725 GMT, shares in the Helsinki-based bank were down 0.7% to EUR11.29.


Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-05-24 0351ET