Bill Browder says money laundering enforcement is a joke

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William Browder, chief executive officer of Hermitage Capital Management, takes his seat as he arrives for a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled ‘Oversight of the Foreign Agents Registration Act and Attempts to Influence U.S. Elections’ in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill, July 27, 2017 in Washington, DC. 

Scandinavian countries have created a “permissive environment” for money laundering, Bill Browder told CNBC Wednesday, shortly after the prominent Kremlin critic accused Nordea Bank of fraud, falsification and dishonest conduct.

Nordea became the latest large Nordic bank to be accused of alleged money laundering scandals on Tuesday, when Browder’s Hermitage Capital Management asked Swedish and Norwegian authorities to investigate as much as $175 million of potentially illicit funds.

In an emailed statement to CNBC, Nordea said it was aware of the documents purporting to show it had breached money laundering laws.

The bank refused to comment on individual clients, citing banking secrecy requirements.

“At the moment it is a joke what is going in terms of money laundering enforcement in Denmark for sure, and we’ll see in these other countries,” Browder told CNBC’s “Street Signs” Wednesday.