Nordic banking group Swedbank has launched a unit dedicated to financial fraud and security amid a money laundering scandal which has sent the bank’s valuation reeling.
Swedbank’s share price fell of a cliff in February, and again in March, in the wake of allegations that billions of dollars of suspect money from Russia and other countries had been laundered through the bank.
The bank said it is co-operating with probes by US, Swedish and Baltic regulators, and had appointed external advisors including the international law firm Clifford Chance, which is leading an ongoing internal investigation.
Swedbank’s acting President and CEO Anders Karlsson said the anti-financial crime (AFC) unit would focus on anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorism financing (CTF), fraud prevention, cyber security, information security and physical security.
The unit will be headed by Anders Ekedahl, who will have the overall group responsibility for AML processes in Swedbank.
AFC will coordinate internal and external investigations within the AML area, which includes cooperating with authorities.
Karlsson said, “By forming the AFC, we are creating a strong unit focusing on different aspects of financial crime.
“The unit will have the overall responsibility for the bank’s AML processes including framework and processes for KYC, risk classification, transaction monitoring and reporting to authorities.
“We are now gathering all relevant resources and competences in the bank to make sure that we secure robust capabilities and we will continue to invest in this area.”
Copyright © 2019 RegTech Analyst
Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
