Baltic, Banks, Estonia, Financial Services

The decision was taken after some evidence of a misdemeanor appeared during a financial supervisory investigation into compliance with anti-money laundering rules that was launched earlier this year. In this separate misdemeanor proceeding, investigators are looking at whether the acts comprise necessary elements of an offense, whether they are unlawful and whether the person is guilty of commission of the offense, whether there are circumstances to end the investigation without further proceeding and other important aspects, the FSA said.

The misdemeanor procedure is about sanctioning, while financial supervisory proceedings oblige a person in the interests of financial stability and transparency. Financial supervisory investigation with regard Swedbank AS will also continue.

The FSA is working extensively in the supervisory case with Swedish and other Baltic authorities, and the supervisory authorities are coordinating their activities and sharing information and assessments. The FSA does not conduct criminal proceedings and nor is it authorized to investigate criminal cases.

The FSA plans to communicate the results of the investigations at the beginning of next year at the earliest.