In 2022, Danske Bank pled guilty and agreed to a $2 billion fine in a case from the United States Department of Justice.

In Denmark, the major expansion occurred in 1990 after the merger with Kjøbenhavns Handelsbank and Provinsbanken.

In 1997, the company merged with Suomen Vientiluotto (Finnish Export Credit) to form Leonia Pankki.

Nonetheless, a single management team continued to run both banks, which shared many services and back office functions.

[16] At the time the bank closed its 27 branches to focus on corporate and private clients.

[24] Danske Bank in Estonia traces back to 1992 when Eesti Forekspank was established.

[12] In 2014, The Estonian Financial Supervision Authority found "large-scale, long-lasting systemic violations of anti-money laundering rules" in the Estonian branch of Danske Bank and notified the Danish authorities on the findings.

According to the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority, the activities decreased after they requested the bank to target the violations.

[27] On 31 July 2018, Estonia's prosecutor general, Lavly Perling, opened a criminal investigation following allegations that the bank had facilitated large-scale money laundering through its Estonian branch.

[32] In October, the bank confirmed that the United States Department of Justice had also launched a criminal investigation.

[34] In February 2019, the Estonian Financial Supervisory Authority ordered the bank to cease its operations in the country within 8 months.

[36] Origins of Danske Bank in Latvia traces back to 1996 when Maras banka was established.

[11] Authorities in Denmark, Estonia, France, and the United Kingdom have launched investigations related to large-scale money laundering through Danske Bank.

In 2018, the bank also faced a criminal investigation from the United States Department of Justice into the affair that saw €200bn of non-resident money flow through its branch in Estonia, which was under the supervision of the Financial Supervisory Authority of Denmark (due to location of headquarter) and the Financial Supervisory Authority of Estonia (due to location of branch).

[40] In December 2022, Danske Bank pled guilty and agreed to a $2 billion fine in a case from the United States Department of Justice.

[44] The incident also raised questions on if the bank misled the Financial Supervisory Authority, which may result in fines or disciplinary actions.

[45] The Danske Bank share price dropped more than 70% following the disclosure of the Estonian money laundering scandal and the company was subsequently targeted by activist shareholders.