According to the Complaint, Danske Bank A/S, headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, provides various personal banking, business banking and wealth management products and services, along with mortgage finance, real-estate brokerage, foreign exchange and equity services, and also trades in fixed income products. The Company operates 280 branches in eight countries, including Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and internationally.
The Complaint alleges that during the Class Period, Defendants made false and misleading statements and/or failed to disclose adverse information regarding Danske Bank’s business and operations. Specifically, the Complaint alleges that Defendants failed to disclose that: (i) Danske Bank’s Estonian branch was facilitating money laundering through at least March 2016; (ii) that a whistleblower had reported the Estonian money laundering to the Company in 2013; (iii) that Denmark’s Financial Supervisory Authority (the “DFSA”) had been investigating the Estonian money laundering since 2014; (iv) that Danske Bank had concealed the results of its own internal investigation from the DFSA, further exposing it to regulatory action and fines; (v) that Danske Bank had been overstating its historical profits by including the profits derived from its illicit Estonian operations; and (vi) that Danske Bank lacked effective internal and reporting controls.
On March 22, 2019, the Court issued an Order appointing Co-Lead Plaintiffs and Co-Lead Counsel. Plaintiffs filed an amended Complaint on April 26. On May 14, Plaintiffs filed a second amended Complaint. Plaintiffs filed a third amended Complaint on August 6. Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss the third amended Complaint on September 13. On August 24, 2020, the Court issued an Order granting Defendants' Motion to Dismiss. The case was dismissed with prejudice. Plaintiffs filed a notice appealing the Dismissal Order on September 23. On September 15, 2021, the Court of Appeals issued an Order affirming the District Court's Dismissal Order.
