On Thursday, the bank also canceled a share buyback program, after Danish authorities ordered it to build up capital in case of a pending fine or financial trouble. The Justice Department has the power to fine foreign banks—often hundreds of millions of dollars—for money laundering violations, in addition to similar fines the bank could face in Denmark or elsewhere. “Danske Bank is cooperating with these authorities,” the statement said. “The timing of completion of the investigations by, and...

The whistleblower complaint identified Deutsche Bank AG DB 1.07% and Citigroup Inc., both overseen by U.S. regulators, as involved with transactions into and out of Danske Bank’s Estonian branch. Deutsche Bank acted as a correspondent bank for Danske, handling dollar wire transfers. Citigroup’s Moscow office was involved in some of the transfers through Danske Bank’s Estonian branch, the person familiar with the probes said. A spokesman for Danske said the bank often talks to regulators....

FRANKFURT--The European Central Bank said it will challenge Latvia’s decision to suspend its central-bank governor Ilmars Rimsevics, backing the man at the center of allegations of corruption and money laundering in the Baltic nation in an effort to protect the ECB’s independence from political control. Mr. Rimsevics, who sits on the ECB’s 25-member rate-setting committee, has been prevented from performing his duties as central-bank governor or leaving Latvia while national authorities...

RIGA, Latvia—Latvian regulators sought to reassure the public about the solidity of the country’s banking system, as authorities weighed emergency assistance for a Latvian bank facing U.S. sanctions for allegedly helping North Korea. Latvia’s chief banking regulator said Friday that ABLV Bank poses no systemic risk to Latvia’s financial sector and is on track to qualify for as much as €480 million ($592 million) in emergency aid, amid fresh concerns that the bank has helped make Latvia a...

RIGA, Latvia—A Latvian bank threatened with U.S. sanctions for allegedly conducting a global money-laundering scheme, including for companies connected to North Korea’s missile program, is seeking more than a half billion dollars in government bailout money in an effort to stay afloat. The accusations against ABLV Bank by the U.S. Treasury Department have ignited one of Europe’s biggest money-laundering scandals in years and shined a spotlight on Washington’s efforts to go after Eastern...