US transfers $50 million in forfeited assets to Estonia for help in Danske Bank prosecution
11:37 am Wednesday, January 08th, 2025
By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday it will share $50 million in forfeited assets with Estonia in recognition of Estonia’s assistance in the successful prosecution of Danske Bank and related forfeiture.
The bank became the subject of several investigations after an internal probe in September 2018 uncovered about 200 billion euros ($207 billion) of payments made through its now-shuttered Estonian branch, with many payments appearing suspicious.
During that money laundering scandal, Danske pleaded guilty in late 2022 to bank fraud conspiracy, forfeiting $2 billion to settle the U.S. investigation.
Under the agreement, Estonia will use the funds to strengthen its capacity to fight financial crime, the Justice Department said in a statement.
Estonia cooperated in the Danske Bank investigation and shared evidence obtained in its probe with U.S. authorities, the Justice Department said.
The Estonian embassy in Washington separately confirmed the agreement with the U.S. in an emailed statement.
($1 = 0.9666 euros)
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Lincoln Feast.)
