E96: How a jailed CEO has rocked Sweden’s banking sector

Former Swedbank chief executive, Birgitte Bonnesen, is facing 15 months in prison after being convicted of spreading misleading information about the bank’s money laundering problems in Estonia.The conviction ties into one of Europe’s biggest money-laundering scandals where both Swedbank and Denmark’s Danske Bank were alleged to have allowed Russian oligarchs and criminals to move money through their Baltic branches and into the western financial system. So with an incredibly senior figure from Sweden’s oldest bank now potentially facing prison time – is this crisis averted? Our expert host, Marit Rødevand, is joined by Axel Humlesjö, Reporter at SVT and author of ‘The Honey Trap’, to discuss: how this story was uncovered by journalists in Sweden, the impact of Birgitte Bonnesen’s sentencing, and whether this is the *end* of Russia's attempt to infiltrate Sweden's institutions. Producer: Matthew Dunne-MilesEngineers: Dominic Delargy and Nicholas Thon____________________________________The Laundry Live returns to London on 30 Oct at the Ministry of Sound! Keynote, podcast, DJ, and launch of the first AML Megaminds report. Grab your ticket here!____________________________________The Laundry podcast: Dive deep into the intricacies of financial crime, AML (anti-money laundering), compliance, sanctions, and the ever-evolving landscape of financial regulation.Hosted by Marit Rødevand and Fredrik Riiser – this podcast features renowned experts from banking, fintech, compliance, and investigative journalism.Together, they shed light on the industry's trending topics, analyse mainstream news through a compliance-focused lens, and connect the fight against financial crime to its real-world consequences and ramifications.The Laundry is proudly produced by Strise, the AML Automation Cloud.Get in touch at: [email protected] to our newsletter, Fresh Laundry, here. The views, opinions, and statements expressed by guests of this podcast are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of the podcast hosts, The Laundry team, or Strise. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.