In autumn 2018, after Danske Bank's money laundering issues in the Baltics were revealed, journalists questioned Swedbank about its operations in Estonia. According to Dagens Nyheter, Birgitte Bonnesen described finding no problematic customers linked to Danske Bank. On February 20, 2019, SVT's 'Uppdrag Granskning' reported numerous suspicious customers and transactions in Swedbank's Estonian operations, with experts citing clear warning signs of money laundering.
Swedbank's stock plummeted, losing 40 billion kronor in market value in the following days. On February 26, 2019, Dagens Nyheter revealed that Bonnesen had informed some shareholders about the upcoming report before its publication. The Swedish Economic Crime Authority initiated a preliminary investigation into unauthorized disclosure of insider information, later expanding it after a house search at Swedbank's headquarters.
Yes. We found nothing. We have gone through all the customers who were involved in the media's reporting about Danske Bank and none of them are, or have been, customers at Swedbank. Not a single one.
The prosecutor suspects Bonnesen knew about the money laundering problems when she made her statements, and she is now suspected of gross fraud as well. In March 2019, Birgitte Bonnesen was fired, and board chairman Lars Idermark resigned shortly after. They were replaced by Jens Henriksson as CEO and former Prime Minister Göran Persson as chairman.
The trial against Bonnesen began in autumn 2022, with charges including unauthorized disclosure of insider information and gross fraud, carrying a potential penalty of up to six years imprisonment. After 22 days of hearings, the district court acquitted her in January 2023, finding her statements either correct or too general to be punishable. However, in autumn 2024, the Court of Appeal determined the statements were misleading and punishable, sentencing her to one year and three months in prison.
The case is now before the Supreme Court, which will review whether her statements constituted a crime, based on proven suspicions of money laundering from 2007–2015 and her awareness of anti-money laundering deficiencies. The Supreme Court's review focuses on clarifying if her statements were misleading in a criminal manner.