Danske Bank International Litigation Overview

An international coalition of law firms launched an investigation of Danske Bank shortly after the revelations of money laundering. After months of investigation and legal research regarding the viability of pursuing compensation for damaged Danske Bank investors via group litigation in Denmark, ISAF announced in November 2018 that a group litigation would be filed naming Danske Bank as a defendant.

The first wave of this collective action was filed on December 27, 2019 in the District Court of Copenhagen, Denmark. [See Press Release] An additional ISAF-organized litigation group joined the action prior to the statute of limitations expiring in 2020.  This lawsuit was filed on behalf of shareholders who (i) suffered losses as a result of Danske Bank’s money laundering scandal and related disclosure and corporate governance violations (the “Claims”) and (ii) who entered into a success fee based Participation and Funding Agreement with ISAF with respect to the Claims.

The ISAF group and several other litigation groups representing hundreds of institutional investors with aggregate claims of over USD [X Billion] petitioned to be transferred to the Østre Landsret, the “High Court” more experienced with complex matters. The High Court determined that a representative group of claims would be heard and that the remaining claims stayed in City Court await the High Court outcome. From the representative group, eight plaintiffs were ultimately selected as the model cases, largely based on trading patterns across several proposed relevant periods. ISAF works closely with all of the litigation groups to successfully resolve this matter for damaged investors.

Danske Bank Pleads Guilty to Fraud

In December 2022, Danske Bank announced coordinated resolutions with the US Department of Justice (“DoJ”), the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Danish National Special Crime Unit (“SCU”) following their investigations into failings and misconduct related to the Non-Resident Portfolio at Danske Bank Estonia (the “Coordinated Resolutions”). As a condition to the resolutions, Danske Bank agreed to pay monetary penalties of DKK 15.3 billion.

Danske Bank also entered into a Plea Agreement with the DoJ [LINK TO DOJ PLEA AGREEMENT] as part of the coordinated resolution. The Plea Agreement included Danske Bank’s admission of guilt to a criminal charge of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, acceptance of three years of probation and express agreement “that it shall not, through present or future attorneys, officers, directors, employees, agents, or any other person authorized to speak for the Defendant make any public statement, in litigation or otherwise, contradicting the acceptance of responsibility by the Defendant set forth above or the facts described in the Information and Statement of Facts.”

ISAF-Danske Litigation Coalition

The ISAF coalition consists of some of the world’s leading law firms, including the US-based law firm Pomerantz LLP, that recently secured a USD $3 billion investor settlement from Petrobras in the US; the US-based law firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP that has litigated and resolved some of the most important complex civil and securities litigations in recent history, including the recent USD $15 billion civil settlement with Volkswagen on behalf of American diesel vehicle owners and lessees; the German law firm, TILP Litigation Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH, the lead counsel in the Euro €10 billion collective international investor claim action against Volkswagen in Germany; and the Dutch law firm, Lemstra Van der Korst N.V., that represents a foundation for damaged investors in Petrobras having billions of US dollars and euros in losses in Petrobras, as well as similar foundations for Libor rate rigging and other matters. The ISAF coalition is working together with Danish law firm Offersen:Christoffersen to bring justice to damaged