Judge Valerie Caproni of the Southern District of New York dismissed with prejudice all claims in a putative federal securities class action against Danske Bank and certain of its former executives.
The plaintiffs alleged that Danske Bank materially misled holders of its ADRs between 2014 and 2019 by failing to disclose alleged violations of anti-money laundering laws, policies and procedures at its Estonian branch.
Judge Caproni based her August 24 ruling on three independent grounds. First, she held that plaintiffs failed to sufficiently plead fraud with particularity. Second, the Court held that plaintiffs’ allegations failed to establish that any challenged statement was materially misleading. Third, Judge Caproni held that plaintiffs failed to sufficiently allege that defendants acted with scienter.
The S&C team representing Danske Bank was led by Brian Frawley.