Corruption in Luxembourg - Part II

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Corruption in Luxembourg - Part II

Fri, 30/03/2012 - 18:21
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It has now been confirmed by the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority (Finanstilsynet) that the greater part of Danske Bank International S.A.'s financial activity (in Norway ) is unauthorized, and thus illegal.

One of the main reasons for our “problems” in Luxembourg, is that we can prove that Danske Bank International has carried out unauthorized and thus illegal financial service in Norway (e.g. encouraging and assisting Norwegian consumers to commit tax fraud, hence the bank has conspired to commit tax fraud), a service the bank has prospered from, while the consumers have lost all their savings. The bank knows that most of the consumers/clients won’t dare to fight back – as their funds are conveniently managed under the tax-radar, to put it like that – and has thus positioned itself to almost freely, and without risk, defraud and embezzle from their client’s funds. Our funds were – as I have mentioned before in our lawsuit against CSSF – legally gained and are tax free (the reimbursement of solving a miscarriage of justice is tax free in Norway), and were thus never under any tax radar. Nevertheless the bank deceived and defrauded us.

It has now been confirmed by the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority (Finanstilsynet) that Danske Bank’s financial activity (in Norway) beyond class 1 to 9 is unauthorized, which it has been since 1995. See Finanstilsynet’s inquiry to CSSF of March 23 2012. The whistle was blown with this letter of March 12 2012 (only in Norwegian, but you will find the essence of our alarm in our letter of January 26 2010 to the Luxembourg Minister of Finance).

This means that all the financial “service” the bank has provided us and other Norwegian consumers with (like portfolio management and portfolio service (listed as class 11 activity in 2006/48/EC Annex I)) is and has always been unauthorized. The bank’s “business” in Norway is thus like printing bank notes without authorization.

The consequences of the letter from Finanstilsynet, in which it actually confirms that the bank has never been authorized for class 10 to 14 activities listed in the above mentioned Annex I, are dramatic. This means that all agreements/contracts/investments (between the bank and Norwegian consumers, including us) entered into and carried out under this unauthorized umbrella, are illegal and thus regarded as null and void. Furthermore, this means that the greater part of the bank’s activity in Norway rests upon a criminal foundation. The bank could obviously risk bankruptcy as soon as this becomes public, and its clients/former clients realise their own rights and power. It is though quite disturbing to see that the bank still finds it more comfortable to shut the light (us), than to fix the problem.

CSSF (the Luxembourg financial supervisory body) has been aware of the bank’s unauthorized and thus criminal financial activity in Norway for many years (we informed CSSF and the minister of finance (Jean-Claud Juncker) about this in January 2010, and in a two-hour meeting with the CSSF on June 10 2010 we elaborated on this problem), yet the institution has accepted this activity and even attempted to protect and conceal it (the reason, we believe, is that this bank is far from being the only bank practicing unauthorized financial service around in other European countries), an activity which has caused us and many other Norwegian consumers great harm.

Savers and investors who feel betrayed by the bank are invited to share their stories here with us.

In this regard you should know that our two former Wealth Managers; Øyvind Bjørnsen (at present the Vice-President of DNB NOR Private Banking Luxembourg, and Anne Kaupang Leighton (still with the Danske Bank) travelled to Spain in 2006-2007 with the intent – and on behalf of Danske Bank International S.A. – to defraud pensioners owning unencumbered properties (the so called Equity-Release-Scheme. For further reading on this issue, please click into Antonio Flores blog, and Danske Bank's add in Spaniaposten March 24 2007). Due to these two persons – and the bank – hundreds of families have lost or are about to loose their homes.

Next step should be a massive legal attack against the CSSF and the bank (in any jurisdiction suitable), in which we would gladly assist with our experience, documents, and legal advise.

 

Herman J Berge
Luxembourg

 

Read part I here

Read part III here

Read part IV here