Lithuanian c. bank warns Swedbank over money laundering prevention shortcomings

VILNIUS - The Bank of Lithuania has warned Swedbank, one of the country's biggest banks, over infringements and shortcomings in the area of money laundering and terrorist financing prevention.

Swedbank has until May 1 to remove all the shortcomings, the central bank said.

Swedbank says that it has already taken steps to improve its internal control systems and ensure appropriate customer identification, thus eliminating some of the shortcomings identified during the central bank's inspection.

"We are taking the findings of the inspection very seriously. The area of money laundering and terrorist financing prevention is a priority for us. Therefore, we are making every effort to  ensure our compliance with the requirements in this area," Swedbank CEO Dovile Grigiene said in a press release.

The inspection of Swedbank's operations between early 2016 and March 2017 was carried out last fall.