NEW YORK, Jan. 13, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Danske Bank A/S (“Danske” or the “Company”) (OTC MKTS: DNKEY). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 9980.
The investigation concerns whether Danske and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.
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On September 5, 2017, Reuters reported that Danske had hired the former head of Denmark’s intelligence agency to help it in its effort to counter money-laundering claims. Then, on September 21, 2017, the Company issued a press release revealing that it had “expand[ed] its ongoing investigation into the situation at its Estonian branch.” Two months later, on December 21, 2017, Reuters reported that Danske “had been fined 12.5 million Danish crowns ($2 million)” by Denmark’s Financial Supervisory Authority (the “DFSA”) “for violating anti-money laundering rules in relation to the monitoring of transactions to and from correspondent banks,” and that Danske was “examining whether its Lithuanian and Latvian branches had been involved in money laundering, expanding an investigation beyond its Estonian operations.”
On May 3, 2018, Reuters reported the DFSA issued a report stating it had identified “serious weaknesses” in Danske’s governance and that the Company “was exposed ‘to significantly higher compliance and reputational risks than previously assessed.’”
On July 18, 2018, Danske stated that it wished to pay back approximately $230 million earned in connection with its alleged role in an international money laundering scheme involving illicit funds from Russia, Azerbaijan, and Moldova, calculated based on profit from Danske’s Estonian office. On this news, Danske’s American depositary receipt price fell $1.43, or 9.42%, to close at $13.81 on July 18, 2018. On September 14, 2018, The Wall Street Journal disclosed that a whistleblower had approached the SEC at least two years earlier, and, as a result, U.S. law enforcement agencies had begun investigating the scandal.
On October 23, 2018, the full extent of the Company’s misconduct was releveled when The Wall Street Journal published an article disclosing that in 2013 the whistleblower had alerted Danske’s senior executives and that Danske sought to silence the whistleblower for years.
Upon the full revelation of the Company’s misconduct and the extent to which it relied upon the illegal profits, the price of the Company’s American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) had plummeted approximately 54%, from a high of $20.90 on February 16, 2018, to a low of $9.50 on October 23, 2018.
The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com .
CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP rswilloughby@pomlaw.com 888-476-6529 ext. 9980
