Nordea helped a weapons smuggler – Expressen

When the Panama-papers released showed that Swedish bank Nordea appeared in the leaked documents.

The Bank had several times helped their more affluent customers to set up letterbox.

After “review-Mission” revealing Nordea had their version ready. The process ended in 2009.

“Started in 2009″

But in Panama documents reveals a different picture. Both 2010 and 2011, Nordea had meeting with the law firm Mossack Fonseca in Panama.

– No .. and our image is of course that we communicated that we started this process in 2009, and it gradually implemented over several years after that, says press officer Magnus Nelin now to SVT.

in Wednesday’s program also disclosed a secret customer – with very questionable business luggage.

Nordea called customer “the Icelander” and wanted keep him secret, even before Mossack Fonseca. The man must have earned many millions on arms smuggling.

In fact, it is the man Loftur Johannesson, according to UG. He opened a letterbox in Panama in 1972, and it is still active at Nordea.

Smuggled weapons

The man should, according to several sources of “Mission Review” to be a successful weapons smugglers in the 1970s and 1980s bought up on large quantities of weapons of corrupt rulers in the Eastern bloc. The weapons were smuggled then on to armed groups, for example, Afghanistan and Somalia. According to the Sunday Times, he sold tanks to Saddam Hussein in the 1980s.

Panama securities also ties together weapons with the money Loftur John’s luxury homes in London and Barbados. Today, “The Icelander” four active letterbox in Nordea. Magnus Nelin, press officer at Nordea, said that the bank does not comment on individual clients, but also the existence of guidelines on dubious business.

– We will of course handle all the customers and all the missions in a very correct way. We will also, it is also our president said, do not be in a gray area.

SVT’s “Mission Review” airs on BBC1 on Wednesdays at 20 and on SVT Play.