COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Belgian consultancy firm Deminor said on Friday it had filed a complaint on behalf of 155 institutional investors seeking 358 million euros ($386 million) in damages from Danske Bank's (CO:DANSKE) former Chief Executive Thomas Borgen.
Deminor, which specializes in representing institutional investors in class actions against public listed companies, said it believed investors had been misled in connection with suspected money laundering at Denmark's biggest lender.
"Knowing the extent of the money laundering activities and the associated material risks in February 2014, the former CEO should have ensured that the bank - at the time - disclosed this information to the public, which was not the cases," Deminor said in a statement.
Borgen's lawyer Peter Schradieck told Reuters he had no comments about the complaint.
Deminor partner Edouard Fremault told Reuters it would take at least four to five years before the case would actually run in court.
At last year's annual shareholder meeting, Danske shareholders rejected a proposal from Deminor for an independent investigation into the bank's involvement in alleged money laundering.
Danske Bank is under investigation in several countries including the United States over 200 billion euros ($220 billion) of payments through its branch in Estonia between 2007 and 2015, many of which the bank has said were suspicious.
The bank is facing at least three other lawsuits from investors, including one in the United States by 232 pension funds and other investors claiming damages of nearly $800 million.
