Banks, Estonia, Financial Services, Legislation

The office for the investigation of corruption crimes of the Central Criminal Police is handling a criminal case in which suspicions of money laundering and accepting of bribes by the bank's employees are being checked. There are also a number of non-resident transactions under the attention of the investigative body, the Office of the Prosecutor General said.

Mati Ombler, head of the office for the investigation of corruption crimes at the Central Criminal Police, said that hindering money laundering is an important priority for the police.

"Cash flows with illegal backgrounds originally from third countries harm the Estonian economy and threaten the country's reputation. It is therefore of the utmost importance that banks comply with anti-money laundering requirements. We started these criminal proceedings in the summer of 2018, and this week, we conducted procedural acts regarding the bank's staff to gather further evidence regarding the suspicions. For the sake of clarity, I can confirm that this procedure is not related to the Danske Bank investigation," Ombler added.

Public Prosecutor Marek Vahing leading the criminal procedure said that the Office of the Prosecutor General in cooperation with the Financial Supervision Authority and the Central Criminal Police have contributed more than before to the fight against money laundering over the past two years.

"This week, three persons suspected of money laundering were detained and searches were conducted at their places of residence and employment. All suspects are heads of various departments at the Business Bank and existing evidence suggest that two suspects accepted bribes this year and last year. During further criminal proceedings, we will specify the time as well as scope of the committing of the crimes," Vahing said.

The investigation is being carried out by the office for the investigation of corruption crimes of the Central Criminal Police and led by the Office of the Prosecutor General.