No money laundering in Samherji's transactions with DNB

The Oslo Public Prosecutor has dropped a criminal case directed at the Norwegian bank DNB due to transactions with companies affiliated with Samherji. DNB bank reported this in an announcement to the Oslo Stock Exchange this morning. The investigation, which covered allegations of money laundering, did not reveal any criminal conduct that could lead to prosecution, and therefore the case was dropped.

Samherji has faced serious accusations of money laundering through its transactions with DNB Bank related to the operations in Namibia. To support these accusations, members of the media, including the Icelandic press, have referred to the investigation in Norway directed at DNB Bank. The Oslo Public Prosecutor's decision on the case's dismissal confirms that these allegations had no merit.

Samherji is pleased with this result, as the company has always stated that the allegations regarding the transactions of Samherji affiliates with DNB were unfounded. A significant part of a coverage of the fishing industry in Namibia by RUV in Iceland in November 2019 concerned the transactions in question with DNB Bank. During RUV's broadcast, information on the bank's due diligence (know your client documents) was taken out of context and loan transactions, which were carried out to ensure that crewmembers received their salary on time, were made suspicious. Severe allegations were made about these transactions, including that they involved possible money laundering.

Initially, Økokrim investigated the case in question and launched its investigation into DNB Bank after allegations were made about Samherji's business dealings with the bank in a coverage by RUV. The case was then transferred to the Oslo Public Prosecutor's Office which has now completed its investigation and dropped the case.