Danish bank pleads guilty to fraud against US banks

Denmark's Danske Bank pleaded guilty to fraud against US banks in a multibillion-dollar scheme to access the American financial system, the US Justice Department said Tuesday.

Danske Bank agreed to forfeit $2 billion to resolve the US' investigation regarding Danske Bank Estonia's customers and anti-money laundering controls.

The Justice Department said it will credit nearly $850 million in payments that Danske Bank made to resolve related parallel investigations by other domestic and foreign authorities.

"Whether you are a U.S. or foreign bank, if you use the U.S. financial system, you must comply with our laws," Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco said in a statement. "Failure to do so may well be a one-way ticket to a multi-billion-dollar guilty plea."

"Danske Bank lied to U.S. banks about its deficient anti-money laundering systems, inadequate transaction monitoring capabilities, and its high-risk, offshore customer base in order to gain unlawful access to the U.S. financial system," said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the agency's criminal division.

Danske Bank offered services through its branch in Estonia, Danske Bank Estonia, between 2008 and 2016, according to admissions and court documents.

It processed $160 billion through US banks on behalf of non-resident customers, according to the statement.