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CRIME

Frenchman awaits fate as Indonesia executes eight

The fate of a Frenchman condemned to death in Indonesia appeared doomed on Wednesday, after eight fellow drug convicts were executed by a firing squad. The French president has warned Jakarta of consequences.

Frenchman awaits fate as Indonesia executes eight
Serge Atlaoui, who is facing execution, is led away by Indonesian police. Photo: AFP

France on Wednesday condemned the executions in Indonesia of seven foreign drug convicts and said it remained concerned about the fate of a Frenchman also on death row in the Asian country.

The government "reiterates its opposition to the death sentence, in all cases and all circumstances," said French foreign ministry spokesman Romain Nadal.

The French authorities "are fully mobilised to help Serge Atlaoui, whose situation remains very worrying," Nadal said in a statement, expressing his government's "solidarity" with the countries whose nationals were put to death.

Atlaoui, 51, was originally among the group set to be executed but was unexpectedly granted a temporary reprieve Saturday after Indonesia agreed to allow an outstanding legal appeal to run its course.

In defiance of a storm of international criticism, the Indonesian authorities went ahead early on Wednesday with the execution by firing squad of two Australians, a Brazilian, four Africans and one Indonesian, reports said.

A Filipina woman who was set to suffer the same punishment was however spared at the 11th hour.

French President Francois Hollande has warned that Indonesia would face diplomatic "consequences" if it pushed ahead with the execution of Atlaoui over drug trafficking offences.

BANKING

Danish bank to pay millions to end French laundering probe

Denmark’s largest bank has agreed to pay a multi-million sum to end legal pursuits in France linked to alleged money laundering in its Estonian subsidiary that resulted in heavy US penalties

Danish bank to pay millions to end French laundering probe

Danske Bank will pay €6.3million (47million kroner) to end French financial authorities’ investigation.

An independent auditor’s report published in 2018 alleged Danske Bank’s Estonian unit allegedly laundered some €200billion through 15,000 accounts from 2007 to 2015.

The payment was agreed on August 27th with France’s national financial crime prosecutors and validated by a court on Wednesday. The agreement does not involve any admission of guilt.

Danske last December pleaded guilty in the United States and paid a $2billion fine.

The bank last October set aside an amount roughly equal to its US fine in expectation of legal pursuits in several countries.

Probes are underway in Estonia, Denmark, and Britain.

France charged Danske in 2019 with organised money laundering, which it denied, saying it was unaware of its Estonian subsidiary’s activities.

Tracfin, the French finance ministry’s anti-money laundering unit, found suspect movements on two accounts linked to a Franco-Russian businesswoman who has since been handed a two-year suspended sentence.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Danske’s counsel Niels Heering said his institution was “happy to reach this accord which for us is a way to close this chapter”, adding that “cracking down on financial fraud remains a priority” for the bank.

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