【经济学er】money-laundering

The money-laundering scandal that struck Danske Bank last year was staggering（astonishing）. The Danish lender's Estonian branch is suspected of （涉嫌）handling up to $230bn of iffy （having many uncertain or unknown qualities or conditions）funds from former Soviet states.

Aftershocks（余震） are rumbling（rumble：to speak in a low rolling tone） under other European banks. Shares in Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International tumbled（drop~collapse） by more than 12n March 5th after a complaint was filed accusing it (and, to a lesser extent, other Austrian banks) of gross negligence（严重疏忽） or acquiescence（compliance~obedience） in connection with suspicious flows from Danske.

Raiffeisen says it is investigating. Raiffeisen is just the latest bank to be suspected of channelling dirty money（榨取脏钱） from Europe's eastern fringes（东部边缘）. Helsinkibased Nordea and Sweden's Swedbank are among those embroiled（to involve in conflict or difficulties） in the Danske affair. Swedbank's share price has shed 18% since it was linked to Danske last month. Some banks have been stained by a separate scheme, the Troika Laundromat. European banks caught up in such allegations have lost 20bn euro ($22.6bn) or so in stockmarket value in the past six months. The sums that may have flowed through other banks are small change by Danske's impressive standards.

Nordea allegedly（据说） handled some 700m euro, while $5.8bn is reported to have moved between Swedbank and Danske. But investors have good reasons to be jittery（nervy~worried~anxious）. More suspicious transactions are likely to be unearthed（to make know or public）. Probes are under way（正在进行探测） in Denmark, Estonia, Britain, France and America. It is the last of these that turns shareholders' stomachs. America does not take money-laundering lightly（轻易）. In 2012 it fined HSBC $1.9bn for handling Mexican drug money and installed a monitor for five years. Europe may get tougher too.

Calls are growing for the European Central Bank or the European Banking Authority, an EU agency, to be given more powers over national watchdogs（监督机构）. Investors might also worry about businesses being closed.

Estonia's banking regulator has ordered Danske to shut its branch and return deposits to customers later this year. Then there is the interruption that such scandals bring. It is anyone's guess how much time Danske's interim boss（临时老板）, Jesper Nielsen,and his team have had to devote to cleaning up the mess（清理烂摊子）. Such distractions are rarely good for business.