When a famous Danish bank bans crypto trading for its employees and the court agrees, it is not positive for the crypto realm. Nordea Bank of Denmark can now stop its employees from buying any cryptocurrency or digital asset. The latest ruling has come from a court in Denmark where the bank had been fighting a case to bar such activity of its employees.
The bank has taken such a step so that its reputation can be protected against such volatile investment assets. Now, it can prevent its employees from legally investing or trading in cryptocurrencies and take action against any contempt of the court.
Court agrees when Danish bank bans crypto trading
According to the ruling, the risks associated with cryptocurrencies are substantial. Nordea Bank is right in restricting its employees from being associated with such risky endeavours.
The Union for Financial Industry of Denmark had dragged the Nordea Bank to court alleging that such a restriction on the bank’s employees is illegal. The suit was filed after the bank sent a memo to all its employees in January 2018 informing that due to high risks in the crypto market, such trading or investing activity is prohibited.
The bank stated that unregulated markets, such as cryptocurrencies and digital assets, represent significant risks since they are many times used by criminal elements of the society. If the bank’s employees are seen investing in the crypto realm, it can tarnish the bank’s image in public persona. Money laundering is often linked with crypto, and the bank cannot be seen linked to such elements.
Crypto will put the bank’s reputation at stake
Even when employees invest in such assets in an individual capacity, their association with the bank can damage the reputation of the bank. The chairman of the union, Kent Petersen, commented that the suit was filed on the basis that such instructions by the bank violated the privacy of the employees. Everyone has a private life, and their investments must not be linked to the bank as a whole.
He continued that it was vital to establish how much control organizations have over their employees. However, the ruling does not affect any digital assets held by the bank’s employees before the implementation of the ban.
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