Danske Bank A/S has begun shutting down parts of its Estonian business, which is at the center of an ongoing €200 billion money laundering scandal that has been dogging the Danish lender in recent months.

A spokesman for the Copenhagen-based bank told S&P Global Market Intelligence that the "ongoing process" started a few months ago and that the closures are in line with the bank's plan to scale back its operations in the Baltic region and shift its focus to the Nordics.

The bank will wind down its business with its local and private corporate clients in the Baltics but keep doing business with companies that have links to the Nordics, the spokesman said.

In light of the closures, Estonia's Ministry of Finance intends to close its accounts at the embattled branch on Nov. 30, a ministry spokeswoman told Reuters.