SEB and its New York branch agreed to pay $33 million to NYDFS over BSA/AML program deficiencies tied to the 2016 Panama Papers leak. Problems persisted 2015–2019: weak CDD on high-risk clients and correspondent banks, poor risk scoring, inadequate Baltic transaction monitoring, and insufficient client files.
SEB is the fourth NYDFS Panama Papers-related fine (after Mega, Nordea, Swedbank). The bank said the chapter is closed, citing internal reviews and extensive Baltic remediation; DOJ closed its review without penalty. The charge hits Q4 expenses with limited earnings impact.