Unions ready to sue

Nordic lender Nordea demonstrated their attitude to Bitcoin, and challenged any “unethical” or even “criminal” actions. The management of the Bank refers to the lack of regulation, and compares bitcoin with gambling, preferring the latter because at least some regulation. But critics insist on the legality of bitcoin. It is reported that the order was transferred to the employees of Nordea on January 22.

According to reports, 31 thousand employees Nordea was forbidden to invest in bitcoin or any altcoins as of February 28, but this requirement is not retroactive, so the employees who owned a cryptocurrency before the date of entry into force of this order, will not be obliged to get rid of them. It is a small consolation for Finansforbundet and the trade Union Djøf, which includes the majority of Bank employees who are not going to give up.

“It is clear that employees do not have to deal with something criminal. But at the moment this does not apply to bitcoin. We believe that the ban has no legal basis,” said Niels Mosegaard, chief consultant, Djøf and Finansforbundet.

The unions believe that the lender Nordea violates the law. Kent Peterson, Chairman of the Federation of Finance, called the ban “an overreaction” because of the concern that employees who have invested in the crypto-currency could potentially be involved in crimes. While leading cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple, are unable to participate in trading on traditional stock exchanges, they are legitimate in the implementation of trade operations in Denmark, and representatives of trade unions to defend their rights.

The Union Finansforbundet & Djøf intends to file a lawsuit, if at least one of the employees of Nordea, which violates the ban on the use of bitcoin will be dismissed.

It is also reported that the decision by Nordea to take matters into their own hands is a custom among European banks, but it could encourage regulatory bodies such as the European banking Federation, to take radical political steps. Still the tone of the Central banks of the Scandinavian countries was rather ominous, and the local politicians have warned that crypto-currencies are associated with speculations and risks. Meanwhile, regulators are trying to protect investors from the recent excessive volatility of the major cryptocurrencies.

Following the example of JPMorgan?

Nordea is not the first Bank, which warned its employees against the use of bitcoin. One of the leaders of JPMorgan Jamie Dimon earlier negative comments about cryptocurrency and threatened to fire any employee who traded in bitcoin. Since then, he has softened his stance on the issue of cryptocurrencies, which gives some hope to employees of Nordea.

Nordea plans to move its headquarters from Sweden to Finland in 2018.

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