Russian Billionaire Loses Lawsuit Against Nordic Banks

(Bloomberg) --

A group of Nordic banks that had been sued by a Russian oligarch aren’t required to accept his business, in what may prove to be a landmark ruling by a court in Finland.

Russian billionaire Boris Rotenberg, an associate of President Vladimir Putin, lost his lawsuit against four Nordic banks and was ordered to pay more than 500,000 euros ($556,000) to cover their legal fees, the Helsinki District Court ruled on Monday.

The court said that forcing the banks to process payments for Rotenberg, who is on the U.S. sanctions list, would have subjected them to significant financial risk which they, by law, are prohibited from taking.

Rotenberg’s lawsuit targeted Svenska Handelsbanken AB for refusing to accept his cross-border deposits, and Nordea Bank Abp, OP Group and Danske Bank A/S for not processing his payments to vendors for basics including electricity bills.

Jakob Dedenroth Bernhoft, a Copenhagen-based lawyer who specializes in compliance and money laundering issues, said the decision would set an important precedent.

“All the other banks will look at this decision from the court for guidance on what to do in a similar situation,” Bernhoft said by phone before the verdict was delivered.

At stake was the banks’ access to the U.S. dollar market, which is crucial to their ability to operate.

The court’s panel of judges ruled unanimously, but the verdict can still be appealed. Rotenberg has seven days to voice to his dissatisfaction with the decision.

“This is a complex matter and we appreciate the clarity that the District Court has provided,” Nordea said by email.

Handelsbanken spokeswoman Pirjetta Soikkeli said, “This is an important ruling in line with Handelsbanken’s view,” but didn’t comment further. OP said it is reviewing the decision, but also declined to say more.

Rotenberg, whose spokeswoman declined to comment on Monday’s ruling, had argued that his status as a dual citizen of both Russia and Finland meant that banks based in Europe must process his transactions. But the court said Rotenberg failed to prove he resides in a European Economic Area country, and thus has no such rights to basic banking services as mandated by law.

The case comes against a backdrop of money-laundering scandals in the Nordic region, with regulators ratcheting up compliance requirements. Banks are also under increasing pressure to identify dodgy customers. According to documents provided to the court, Rotenberg has a current account at Handelsbanken, which the bank has supplied on the recommendation of the Finnish Financial Ombudsman Bureau.

It’s unclear how Rotenberg will transfer the money he now owes the banks to cover their legal fees, as ordered by the court, after it highlighted the significant risk they would face if they handle his payments.

--With assistance from Alex Sazonov.

To contact the reporters on this story: Kati Pohjanpalo in Helsinki at kpohjanpalo@bloomberg.net;Leo Laikola in Helsinki at llaikola@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tasneem Hanfi Brögger at tbrogger@bloomberg.net

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