Nogen havde hævet pengene, før den ukendte hævning stod på kontoudtoget.

Because Danish is using the past perfect here.

• havde hævet = had withdrawn
• hævede = withdrew

The sentence describes one past action happening before another past situation:

• first: someone withdrew the money
• later: the withdrawal showed up on the statement

So Danish uses havde hævet to show that earlier past action clearly.

A simple timeline:

• Nogen havde hævet pengene
• før den ukendte hævning stod på kontoudtoget

That is exactly the kind of situation where Danish, like English, often uses the past perfect.

Here hæve means to withdraw money.

This verb has several meanings in Danish depending on context, for example:

• hæve penge = withdraw money
• hæve en arm = raise an arm
• hæve en sag = drop/cancel a case
• hæve en aftale = cancel/terminate an agreement

So in this sentence, because the object is pengene, the meaning is clearly withdraw.

Because pengene is the definite plural form: the money.

• penge = money
• pengene = the money

Danish usually adds definiteness to the end of the noun:

• en bil = a car
• bilen = the car

But penge is a plural-only noun in normal use, so:

• penge = money
• pengene = the money

In this sentence, it refers to specific money, not money in general.

Because this is the normal way to say the unknown withdrawal when there is an adjective before the noun.

In Danish:

• without an adjective: hævningen = the withdrawal
• with an adjective: den ukendte hævning = the unknown withdrawal

So when a singular noun is definite and has an adjective before it, Danish normally uses:

• den/det/de + adjective + noun

Examples:

• bilen = the car
• den røde bil = the red car

So den ukendte hævning is the expected pattern.

Because adjectives usually take -e in this kind of definite phrase.

Here the structure is:

• den
  • ukendte
    • hævning

This -e ending is very common when the noun is definite and has a determiner like den.

Compare:

• en ukendt hævning = an unknown withdrawal
• den ukendte hævning = the unknown withdrawal

So the adjective changes from ukendt to ukendte because the phrase is definite.

Because før introduces a subordinate clause, and subordinate clauses usually keep the subject before the verb in Danish.

So:

• før den ukendte hævning stod på kontoudtoget

has the normal subordinate-clause order:

• den ukendte hævning = subject
• stod = verb

This is different from Danish main clauses, where the finite verb is normally in second position.

Compare:

• Main clause: Den ukendte hævning stod på kontoudtoget.
• Subordinate clause: før den ukendte hævning stod på kontoudtoget

Same subject-verb order here, but if you added an adverb like ikke, the difference becomes clearer:

• Main clause: Den ukendte hævning stod ikke på kontoudtoget.
• Subordinate clause: før den ukendte hævning ikke stod på kontoudtoget
  (grammatically showing the subordinate position of ikke, though this particular example is odd in meaning)

Literally, stod på kontoudtoget means stood on the account statement.

But idiomatically, it means something like:

• appeared on the statement
• was listed on the statement
• showed up on the statement

Danish often uses stå for written information that appears on paper or a screen.

Examples:

• Det står i avisen. = It says so in the newspaper.
• Mit navn står på listen. = My name is on the list.
• Det står på regningen. = It is written on the bill.

So stod på kontoudtoget is a natural Danish way to say that the transaction was listed there.

Because Danish forms compound nouns very freely, much like German.

kontoudtoget is built from:

• konto = account
• udtog = statement/extract
• kontoudtog = account statement / bank statement
• kontoudtoget = the account statement

So Danish prefers one compound word where English often uses two or more separate words.

Other examples:

• bankkonto = bank account
• kreditkortnummer = credit card number
• pengestrøm = cash flow

Because kontoudtog is a neuter noun.

In Danish:

• common gender nouns usually take -en in the definite singular
• neuter nouns usually take -et in the definite singular

So:

• et kontoudtog = an account statement
• kontoudtoget = the account statement

The gender of a compound noun is usually determined by its last part. Since udtog is neuter, kontoudtog is also neuter.

Here nogen means someone.

So:

• Nogen havde hævet pengene = Someone had withdrawn the money

A useful thing to know is that nogen can also mean anyone/any in other contexts, especially in questions and negatives.

Examples:

• Er der nogen hjemme? = Is anyone home?
• Jeg kender ikke nogen her. = I do not know anyone here.

But in this sentence, in a normal statement, nogen is best understood as someone.

Because stod gives the past reference point, and havde hævet is the action that happened before that point.

In other words:

• stod = the later past situation
• havde hævet = the earlier past action

If Danish used havde stået as well, it would push that clause even further back in time, which is not what this sentence is trying to do.

So the contrast is deliberate:

• havde hævet = had withdrawn
• stod = was listed / appeared

That combination helps show the sequence clearly.

Yes, but it would change the meaning slightly.

• en ukendt hævning = an unknown withdrawal
• den ukendte hævning = the unknown withdrawal

The version in the sentence sounds like it refers to a specific withdrawal already identifiable in the situation, even if the person behind it is unknown.

So den ukendte hævning suggests a particular transaction the speaker has in mind, such as one already being discussed or investigated.