DENMARK MOVES TO BAN USE OF €500 NOTE, TO COMBAT MONEY LAUNDERING

In the wake of the Danske Bank scandal, legislators in the Folketing, Denmark's Parliament, have taken the initial steps to ban the use of the five hundred Euro note in their country. The large currency denomination has long been linked to money laundering and bulk cash smuggling in the EU, which stopped printing it in 2016.

The Danish law, which, if passed as expected, will take effect in January 2020, will make it illegal to deposit or exchange them, tender them as payment, or even give them as gifts, with monetary penalties for violations.

Back in 2000, when the EU was planning the introduction of the Euro as a unified currency for its members, this blogger, in testimony before the Financial Services Committee of the US Congress, warned that the €500 Euro note, if introduced, would facilitate bulk cash smuggling and money laundering. You can read my prepared statement, which was presented to the committee here.