Boris Fomin, a jailed Russian banker, is serving a six year sentence for his role in an embezzlement case and is currently still being investigated by the Russian authorities. According to Fomin, money obtained through corruption and theft was being laundered through Danske Bank, one of Denmark’s top bank.
Banks in other countries such as, Lithuania Latvia and Cyprus were also used during this time period to launder the money. Allegedly, funds had been laundered from Russia and former Soviet Union nations through these banks over the past 20 years and no one came across any suspicious transactions even once.
There are other individuals involved in related cases, three shareholders of the bank at the time – Russian bankers Ivan Mjasin, Oleg Belousov and Aleksej Kulikov, they are believed to be masterminds behind one of the largest and longest money laundering scheme, although on official record all three have rejected such allegations. At the moment two of the three are serving time themselves. Aleksej is serving time in jail while Ivan has been indicted in Moscow.
In a letter by Fomin, he states “The money had a criminal origin. This was money from illegal enrichment, fictitious activities or bribery as well as proceeds from other kinds of criminal activity.” After this confirmation, the relevant authorities will need to take the necessary action.
The Danske Bank money laundering case is one of the biggest ever known, as new information, like the letter from Fomin, keep surfacing, the investigation of Danske Bank will get deeper and deeper. The bank faces serious security issues; how weak is their system, that these activities were not already caught?
Major overhaul would be needed at every level of the bank to secure itself, and the clients it represents, as being one of the leading banks in Denmark.