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CRIME

Second Swiss citizen arrested in connection with Scandinavian hiker murders

A second Swiss citizen has been arrested in Morocco in connection to the murder of two female Scandinavian hikers in the Atlas mountains.

Second Swiss citizen arrested in connection with Scandinavian hiker murders
FADEL SENNA / AFP

The man, a British-Swiss dual national, was arrested in Témara, north of Casablanca, on Thursday according to Moroccan newspaper 360.

His role in the murders is as yet unknown.

Swiss Federal Police have confirmed his arrest but said they had not been asked to investigate him, adding that he had been residing in Morocco and had not been in Switzerland recently.

He is the second Swiss citizen to be arrested in relation to the murder of Danish student Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, and 28-year-old Norwegian Maren Ueland who were found dead in the High Atlas, south of Marrakesh on December 17th.

The first, a 25-year-old dual Swiss-Spanish national, was arrested on December 29.

The first man, who grew up in Geneva, believed “he had demons in his head who were telling them what to do” and that “thanks to the Koran he had managed finally learned to control them”, according to Spain's El Mundo newspaper.

Read More: Swiss suspect in murder of Scandanavian hikers ‘had psychiatric problems’ 

The first suspect has a criminal record in Switzerland but is not suspected of taking part in the murders. 

Instead, Morocco's central office for judicial investigations believes he may have taught some of those arrested in the case about communication tools and new technology.

According to Moroccan authorities, he may have trained the murderers in marksmanship.

CRIME

Denmark charges bank Nordea over massive money laundering accusations

Denmark has charged the Nordic bank Nordea with laundering 3.5 billion euros ($3.8 billion) for Russian clients, the country's financial prosecutors said Friday.

Denmark charges bank Nordea over massive money laundering accusations

“Nordea did not adequately investigate transactions by Russian clients of the bank and ignored warnings about foreign exchange trades in Copenhagen,” Denmark’s National Special Crime Unit said in a statement.

The alleged laundering happened between 2012 and 2015.

Nordea, which is based in Helsinki, said it expected to pay a fine and had set money aside for provisions in 2019.

“We are disappointed that this affair has been brought in front of the courts,” Nordea’s chief legal counsel Anders Holkmann Olsen said in a statement. “Nordea has recognised on several occasions that at the time there were lapses in our systems and processes for fighting financial crime.”

The bank said it has spent 11 billion kroner ($1.6 billion) since 2015 to prevent financial crimes.

No trial date has been set.

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