Page 7 - bne Magazine February 2023

bne February 2023 Companies & Markets I 7
In 2018 Danske ousted its chief executive and chair after revealing that much of the €200bn of cash that flowed through its Estonian branch from 2007 and 2015 was suspicious.
Danske withdrew from Estonia when the scandal broke in 2018, selling its operations to local player LHV Pank. Danske Bank has also withdrawn from Russia and Latvia.
Danske booked a charge of DKK14bn ($1.9bn) in October, on top of an initial provision of DKK1.5bn from 2018, to resolve all money-laundering probes.
The lender still faces several civil lawsuits from shareholders,
Hungarian PMO unveils size of Russian assets frozen in Hungary after months of silence
bne IntelliNews
Hungary has frozen Russian assets worth €870mn,
the majority of which are owned by failed Sberbank, Minister of the Prime Minister's Office Gergely Gulyas said at a weekly press briefing last week, fielding a question, ending months of news blackout on the issue.
In December, leftist broadsheet Nepszava reported that the Orban government had informed the European Commission of the size of Russian assets frozen in Hungary at the end of November. Previous reports put the value of seized assets at just €3,000.
The Orban cabinet ordered a news blackout on the issue, Nepszava wrote in December, adding that all of its requests for information were turned down. In other member states, governments were much more open about disclosing related information, it added.
The composition of seized assets, (real estate, cash, or business assets) remains unknown, the daily noted.
Sberbank was put on the sanctions list in July 2022 after the EU introduced financial sanctions against Russia.
The Hungarian subsidiary of the Russian lender was wound
and on December 13 it said it would defend itself “vigorously” against them.
Thomas Borgen, Danske’s chief executive from 2013 until 2018, last month won a court case against more than 100 institutional investors suing him for $350mn over the scandal, though it is being appealed. In 2021 prosecutors in Denmark dropped all criminal charges against Borgen.
The former head of Danske's Estonian branch, Aivar Rehe, was found dead in September 2019, two days after being reported missing. The Estonian police determined he had committed suicide.
Hungary's National Bank ordered the liquidation of Sberbank Hungary on March 2
up in March 2022, after its Austria-based parent failed amid international sanctions against Russia. The company had deposited HUF100bn (€252mn) in Austrian Sberbank Europe. The Austrian parent company went bankrupt on March 1.
A few days later, the National Bank began the liquidation of the bank and the compensation of depositors.
Hungary’s insurance deposit fund OBA paid out close to HUF147bn to over 65,000 clients.
The credit portfolio of Serbank Hungary was taken over by MKB Bank, member of the Magyar Bankholding group, boosting its loan book by HUF330bn. The bank took over about 35,000 retail clients and 3,000 corporate clients.
Sberbank Magyarorszag had total assets of HUF511bn at the end of 2020, public records show.
“Hungary has frozen Russian assets worth €870mn, the majority of which are owned by failed Sberbank”
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