Starting from 2019, numerous American and European law firms had filed lawsuits on behalf of their clients against Danske Bank for the damage caused to its stock price as per its role in an over €200 billion money laundering scandal (Europe’s largest to date). The lawsuits were initiated while Danske Bank was still only under investigation by multiple national authorities for having committed possible crimes, without any formal sanction imposed.

Martingale Risk has been closely analysing Danske Bank’s case since September 2017 when news outlets first began reporting on the bank’s internal audit failures and the following year when Danske Bank had completed its internal investigation into the nature and extent of their broad misconduct. As part of our investigation, we had closely monitored developments of the pre-existing shareholder lawsuits filed. This has included the recent Nov. 2022 ruling where the Danish Court had dismissed a lawsuit against the former CEO Mr. Thomas Borgen on behalf of a group of 155 institutional investors seeking damages for $322 million. The Court had cited their reasoning for a lack of evidence to demonstrate gross negligence to prove the necessary violations of the Danish money-laundering act.

Since Danske Bank was at the time under investigation by (in particular) the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), our firm had intentionally delayed the filing of any claims on behalf our clients until we were to receive the conclusion of the investigation proceedings. Our patience and experience has been rewarded and we are pleased to announce that according to Danske Bank’s company announcement No. 16/2022 published on Dec. 13th 2022, Danske Bank has reached final agreements with the US Department of Justice (DoJ), the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Danish Special Crime Unit (SCU). The total aggregated amounts to be paid to the US and Danish authorities is USD 2.06 billion (as broken down below):

DoJ: (USD) 1.209 Billion
SEC: (USD) 178.6 Billion
SCU: (DKK) 4.749 Billion

This has arrived as the result of an extensive three-part investigation into the bank’s failure to adequately implement anti-money laundering (AML) policies and controls. Danske Bank has in-turn pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, which has been approved by the U.S. District Court in accordance with their resolution with the DoJ. Danske Bank has agreed and accepted the terms of the resolutions resulting from the investigation from the US and Danish authorities. Additionally, Danske Bank (per the plea agreement with the DoJ), will be placed on probation for three years and the Danish FSA has ordered an independent expert to monitor the implementation of its financial crime plan.

Only with the press release No. 16/2022 of 13/12/2022 the bank has accepted all findings and has apologized for the “unacceptable historical failings and misconduct”, taking all the responsibilities for its wrongdoing.

In the words of the bank’s Chairman of the Board of Directors - Mr. Martin Blessing, “The resolutions mark the end of the investigations by US and Danish authorities. We have cooperated since we were approached by the authorities and accept the terms of the resolutions. We offer our unreserved apology and take full responsibility for the unacceptable failures and misconduct of the past, which have no place at Danske Bank today.We have learnt from our mistakes and we have taken the steps necessary to ensure that Danske Bank has robust measures in place to do everything possible to prevent these failures taking place again”.

At Martingale Risk, we believe that it is now finally the optimal time to take action against Danske Bank. We believe the multiple national authority sanctions and the bank’s public confession about the wrongdoing committed provides multiple levels of clear and backed evidence of misconduct to bring forward and thoroughly support our clients’ claims.

Our Proposal

In light of substantial evidence of misconduct, Martingale Risk is pursuing now all possible actions against Danske Bank to claim damages on behalf of its clients in Danish jurisdiction. More precisely, Martingale Risk is conducting the following:

Preliminary analysis on the clients data;
After the mandate, a detailed analysis on the damage suffered by each client in connection with the established wrongdoing under each specific jurisdiction;
Negotiation and extra-judicial proceedings finalized to recover the loss amounts in the quickest possible manner;
Litigation in Danish jurisdiction or potentially over other relevant courts, even depending on the clients’ domiciliation, through Martingale Risk’s global network of associated law firms.

Martingale Risk is pursuing actions on behalf of investors who purchased Danske Bank common stock during the period of Jan. 1st, 2008 – Dec. 31st, 2020. Martingale Risk invites all potentially harmed institutional and retail investors that have invested and experienced losses within the manipulated period to contact the below individuals for a preliminary and free claim evaluation to determine if they may be eligible for reimbursement:

CEO of Martingale Risk - Dr. Marco Delzio (marco.delzio@martingalerisk.com)

Head of Institutional Client Management - Mr. Peter Ogden (peter.ogden@martingalerisk.com)

Open Case:

Lawsuit Against Danske Bank