A Swedish court on Tuesday sentenced Birgitte Bonnesen, former CEO of Swedbank, to 15 months in prison for deceiving investors about the bank’s involvement in a major money laundering scandal.
Bonnesen was found guilty of gross swindling in connection to the bank’s failure to disclose its links to suspicious transactions in the Baltic region.
The Svea Court of Appeal overturned a 2023 district court ruling that had acquitted Bonnesen, marking a significant development five years after the eruption of the scandal.
The case began in 2019 when Swedish public broadcaster SVT revealed that at least 40 billion kronor (approximately $4.4 billion at the time) had been transferred to Baltic countries, particularly Estonia, through Swedbank accounts.
The revelations caused Swedbank’s share price to plummet and ultimately led to Bonnesen’s dismissal.
In its ruling, the appeals court concluded that Bonnesen made misleading statements in interviews with Swedish media outlets Svenska Dagbladet and TT during the release of Swedbank’s third quarterly report in 2018.
“The court concludes that the former CEO disseminated misleading statements, conveying the false message that there were no suspicious money laundering links to the bank’s operations in Estonia,” the court said.
The court found that these statements were likely to mislead investors and harm the financial standing of the bank.
Bonnesen’s lawyer, Per Samuelsson, expressed shock over the conviction and confirmed plans to appeal the ruling.
In addition to the fraud charges, prosecutors had accused Bonnesen of insider trading, alleging she had informed Swedbank’s main shareholders about an upcoming investigative documentary on the money laundering scandal.
However, the appeals court, like the lower court, acquitted Bonnesen of the insider trading charge, stating that the information shared was not of a specific enough nature to be considered insider information.
Following the 2019 revelations, Sweden’s financial regulator fined Swedbank four billion kronor and issued a warning to the bank to comply with anti-money laundering regulations.
The scandal continues to cast a long shadow over Swedbank and its leadership, with Bonnesen’s sentencing serving as a significant consequence of the bank’s failure to prevent illicit financial activities.
AFP
