Assignment review has in a number of programs in recent years been able to reveal how Swedish banks were used to launder money from countries in the former Soviet Union.
In total, the equivalent of over one thousand billion Swedish kronor has been channeled through suspicious accounts in Swedbank's Baltic branches.
Among other things, it has been about how Ukraine's former president Viktor Yanukovych channeled 3.7 million euros through Swedbank's office in Lithuania.
SEB and Danske Bank have also, through their offices in the Baltics, been involved in what has been called one of the world's biggest money laundering scandals.
The expert: Donate the profit
The British Russia expert Edward Lucas now demands that the Scandinavian banks that made money from Russian corruption donate every penny from that profit to the reconstruction of Ukraine.
- They were ignorant, arrogant, naive and greedy, he says to Assignment review.
Corruption and black money are today pointed out as an important factor in understanding Putin's power in Russia.
"We have closed our eyes"
Author and Russia expert Catherine Belton describes how Putin and his men linked a grip on Russia and the country's important natural resources - and then locked large sums of black money abroad, into secret accounts in tax havens.
Among other things, with the help of banks in the west.
According to her, the money has not only gone to private luxury but also to the Russian security service and to influence operations to increase Russia's influence in the world and then division in the West.
- All warning flags have been at Deutsche Bank, SEB, Swedbank and Danske Bank.
But they chose to close their eyes to make money.
No one wondered if there might be a hidden agenda behind the money.
She believes that the verdict of history will be harsh.
- We have all contributed to Putin's heinous actions.
We have turned a blind eye to his monopoly of power and the corrupt system in which he rules.
We have allowed him to become who he is today.
SEB and Swedbank respond
Neither SEB nor Swedbank responds to Edward Lucas' demand that they donate their profits to Ukraine.
SEB writes to Assignment Review that they condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and work actively to support those affected by the war in various ways.
They also write:
“SEB has taken many measures to reduce the risk of being used for money laundering /… / The supervisory authorities in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden have examined SEB's work against money laundering.
The authorities identified areas that needed to be improved, but did not consider the shortcomings to be serious. "
Swedbank writes that the investigations in Sweden into historical deficiencies and money laundering have been completed, but that investigations in the USA and Estonia remain.
They also write:
“We have paid a fine of SEK 4 billion to the Swedish state budget.
The bank has a completely new board and management.
And the bank works to contribute to free, open and democratic societies in our four home markets Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden. ”