Pressemeddelelse fra advokatfirmaet Grant & Eisenhofer, som også stod bag den første meddelelse om erstatningssager anlagt mod Danske Bank i kølvandet på hvídvasksagerne:
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Second Wave of International Institutional Investor Lawsuits Accusing Danske Bank of Fraud and Money Laundering Filed by Grant & Eisenhofer
Group of 64 new claimants added to first wave of 168 investors who filed suit in March 2019; group totals 232 institutional investors from 22 countries asserting fraud claims against Danske tied to money laundering scandal; plaintiffs assert nearly USD$800 million in economic losses; U.S. securities law firms Grant & Eisenhofer and DRRT, and local counsel KLAR Advokater, file plaintiffs’ suits in Denmark civil court
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK (October 21, 2019) – A second wave of lawsuits has been filed by an international coalition of institutional investors in the ongoing financial fraud case against Danske Bank A/S. The new suits follow the initial group of cases filed this past March, accusing Denmark’s largest bank and its senior leadership of participating in a massive Russian money-laundering scheme and cover-up at the bank’s Estonia branch.
The new wave of 64 claimants – including several from Scandinavian countries – brings the total number of institutional investor plaintiffs in the Danske litigation to 232. Claimants represent 22 countries across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia and include some of the largest public pension funds in the world. Investors collectively assert nearly $800 million in economic losses resulting from the Danske Bank money-laundering fraud.
The new investor suits were brought by leading U.S. shareholder law firms Grant & Eisenhofer P.A. and DRRT, working with local Denmark counsel KLAR Advokater; the cases were filed in the Copenhagen City Court from October 16-18.
“Since this past March, when we first filed these cases, we have received numerous inquiries and significant interest from investors who suffered financial losses resulting from the Danske scandal,” said Olav Haazen, a director with Grant & Eisenhofer who represents the investor group. “Add to the $800 million in claims already asserted, we expect to bring yet a third wave of related cases in the next few months.”
The details of the allegations against Danske Bank can be found in G&E’s March 18, 2019 press release announcing the filing of the first wave of institutional investor lawsuits. In September 2018, an independent investigation ordered by Danske Bank’s board of directors revealed that an astronomical $230 billion in suspicious transactions from Russian sources passed through the Estonia branch. The bank’s top management had been informed about the transactions by an internal whistleblower as early as 2014. The lawsuits accuse Danske Bank of engaging in a cover-up to keep the findings as well as the magnitude of the laundering from investors and financial regulators. In addition to criminal and regulatory investigations pending in Estonia, Denmark, France and the UK, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice opened their own probes of Danske Bank.
“The breadth of the fallout from this case is astonishing, and doesn’t merely encompass Danske’s uppermost leadership,” said Mr. Haazen. “The sheer number of institutional investors affected is remarkable — currently 232, but this figure may increase to include dozens more that will likely push our clients’ damage claims total to top $1 billion. With such a vast swath of financial victims presenting claims in this case, the court is considering selecting a test case, similar to lead plaintiff or model plaintiff, to help facilitate in adjudication.”
The actions seek damages on behalf of institutional investors who purchased and/or acquired Danske Bank A/S securities during the relevant period of Dec. 31, 2012 through the present.
In addition to Mr. Haazen, Grant & Eisenhofer associate Alice Cho Lee is working with the investor group.
Grant & Eisenhofer regularly represents European and international investors. The firm has successfully acted as counsel in connection with major investor lawsuits in Germany, France, the U.K. and the Netherlands. G&E has led coalitions of global investors in successfully bringing securities class actions against Fortis in the Netherlands and against Royal Bank of Scotland in the U.K., which were both accused of vastly overstating their liquidity and understating their exposure to the toxic U.S. subprime market. These unprecedented securities actions led to settlements of $1.5 billion and $1 billion respectively – among the largest securities fraud settlements ever in Europe. G&E also directed litigation against Royal Dutch Shell which led to a $400 million investor settlement in 2007, the largest securities fraud settlement in Europe at the time.
