Birgitte Bonnesen, who served as chief executive of Swedbank during the bank's involvement in a major money laundering scandal, was cleared by the Supreme Court after a lengthy legal process. The court found that Bonnesen's allegedly misleading statements in media interviews in autumn 2018 were covered by constitutional free speech protections, overturning a previous conviction by the Svea Court of Appeal.
The case stems from statements Bonnesen made in two interviews in late 2018, when she told reporters that Swedbank had found no evidence of money laundering among its customers. According to iclg.com, Bonnesen described having gone through all customers linked to the Danske Bank scandal and stated that none were or had been Swedbank clients. These statements were made amid intense media scrutiny following the revelation of the Danske Bank case, which involved more than €200 billion in suspicious transactions through its Estonian branch between 2007 and 2015. In February 2019, SVT's investigative program Uppdrag Granskning reported that Swedbank's Estonian branch had handled suspicious customers and transactions, triggering a sharp decline in the bank's stock.
We found nothing. We have gone through all the customers who were involved in media reporting about Danske Bank and none of them are, or have been, customers of Swedbank. Not a single one.
Following the Uppdrag Granskning report, Swedbank's market value fell by approximately 40 billion Swedish kronor, according to multiple reports. Bonnesen was fired in March 2019 after the bank's annual general meeting, as the scandal deepened. The financial impact and loss of investor confidence underscored the seriousness of the allegations against the bank.
In 2023, the Stockholm District Court cleared Bonnesen of all charges, but the Svea Court of Appeal reversed that decision in 2024, convicting her of gross fraud and gross market manipulation and sentencing her to 15 months in prison. The appeal court cited evidence of extensive suspected money laundering transactions between Swedbank's Estonian branch and Danske Bank's Estonian operations between 2007 and 2015. It also found serious shortcomings in Swedbank's anti-money laundering policies and procedures, and held that Bonnesen's statements were misleading and likely to influence the assessment of Swedbank financially and cause damage.
The acquittal may have serious consequences.
The Supreme Court, however, took a different view. According to multiple reports, the court noted that Bonnesen had little time for reflection before making the statements and that editorial responsibility lay with the journalists who conducted the interviews. The court determined that the statements were protected under Sweden's Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression, which shields individuals from liability for certain types of speech in media contexts. Bonnesen had been charged with gross fraud and gross market manipulation following the interviews, but the Supreme Court's ruling effectively ended the criminal case against her.
The acquittal has sparked debate about its implications. According to Sveriges Radio Nyheter, Sverre Linton, chief legal officer at Aktiespararna, described the acquittal as potentially having serious consequences. The decision may affect how corporate executives communicate with the media and the extent to which they can be held criminally liable for statements that later prove inaccurate. Legal experts are closely watching the case, which is still being considered by the Supreme Court in terms of its broader legal impact, according to Dagens Nyheter.
Several questions remain unanswered. The specific evidence the Supreme Court considered in determining that Bonnesen's statements were protected by freedom of expression has not been fully disclosed. It is also unclear whether the court addressed the factual accuracy of her claims about money laundering. The broader legal implications for corporate executives' liability for public statements are still being assessed, and the ruling's effect on ongoing or future investigations into Swedbank's money laundering practices remains to be seen.