In India, we have banks that didn’t facilitate crypto trade and played into the hands of regulators. In Europe they have banks that facilitated large crypto-fiat deals and are now being investigated by their regulators. Things are being executed a bit late here, but it seems that they too are walking on our own path.
That’s right. Danske Bank, Swedbank and many other financial institutions of Lithuania are being investigated by the Financial Crime Investigation Service (FCIS) of Lithuania in connection with large-scale crypto-fiat transactions that took place in the last two years. Some clients of these banks have traded cryptocurrencies with millions of dollars, and the regulators now want to know from where did this chain of transactions begin. A total of €661 million changed hands through 7 banking institutions of Lithuania, and many of the speculators involved in these trades were Lithuanian taxpayers.
For the purpose of the investigation, FCIS is probing all crypto-fiat transactions involving more than €80,000. Around 500 companies and 100 individuals are under scanner, and the 7 banks being investigated are as follows:
- Luminor
- Swedbank
- SEB
- Danske Bank
- Citadele
- Pervesk
- Mister Tango
Citizens of Lithuania and Sweden are behind 3 of the biggest exchange transactions ever in the history of crypto. The first transaction involved €27.2 million, second involved €16.6 million and the third one involved €14.1 million. One Lithuanian resident has also reported profits of more than €6 million through cryptocurrency trade, according to FCIS director Mindaugas Petrauskas (yep – you’re in trouble if your report your earnings honestly, and also in trouble when you don’t report them honestly!)
These investigations have largely been launched citing the fears of money laundering. It will be interesting to see who is made the scapegoat after the conclusion of these investigations – traders or bankers!
Source: Crypto-news.in