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From the markets to the boardroom to the picket line, the reach of Danske Bank’s money laundering fraud scandal continued to play out this week.

Reuters delivered several stories. A Wednesday morning story reported that foreign investors sold Danish shares worth almost $14 billion in 2018, according to a report from Denmark’s central bank.

The divestment of bank equities may reflect a loss of confidence in the Danish banking sector in the wake of Danske Bank’s money laundering case, it said.

“The trust from international investors has certainly been reduced,” governor Lars Rohde told reporters in Copenhagen. He said political initiatives to combat money laundering were paramount to restore foreigners’ trust in Danish banks.

Rohde is the chairman of the board of governors of Danmarks Nationalbank.

Danske-Bank-Whistleblower-Howard-Wilkinson. Source: www.kkc.com
Howard Wilkinson

The Danske Bank scandal was exposed by whistleblower Howards Wilkinson. He reported suspicious financial transactions at bank’s Estonia branch, where he worked until 2014. It has been calculated that up to $20 billion in fraudulent financial activity have been brought to light by Wilkinson’s disclosures.

Stephen M. Kohn, Wilkinson’s whistleblower attorney, said in a statement that whistleblowers need to be supported, not vilified: “If the Bank had simply properly investigated Mr. Wilkinson’s initial disclosures in 2012 and 2013, they could have avoided most of this mess.”Continue Reading Investors bail while shareholders demand answers and action from Danske Bank on money laundering scandal

Estonian Financial Supervision Authority logo
Seal of the Estonian EBFS

Danske Bank has been ordered to close its troubled Estonian branch before the end of 2019.  Estonian regulators noted on February 19 that the bank violated anti-money laundering regulations for many years by allowing high-risk money-laundering clients to make suspicious transactions through the bank.

In addition, they stated that Danske Bank misled the Estonian public authorities by providing them with inadequate information and thus actually hampered their investigation, according to a statement from the Estonian Board of Financial Supervision.

Danske Bank announced the same day that it is also closing banks in Latvia and Lithuania and Russia.

In a related move, the European Union Banking Authority has opened a formal investigation “into a possible breach of Union law by the Estonian Financial Services Authority and the Danish Financial Services Authority in connection with money laundering activities linked to Danske Bank and its Estonian branch in particular.”

Here’s a roundup of reaction and reporting:

“This is a lesson to corporate banks. Danske Bank made a grave error when it forced Mr. Wilkinson to sign a restrictive non-disclosure agreement, instead of working with Mr. Wilkinson in trying to fix the problems,” according to a statement from Kohn.
Continue Reading A whistleblower exposed money laundering at Danske Bank’s Estonian branch. Now the government is shutting it down.

Danske Bank Whistleblower EU testimony
Danske Bank whistleblower Howard Wilkinson testifies during hearing at the EU Parliament Brussels, Belgium November 21, 2018. https://www.whistleblowers.org
The now famous Danske Bank Whistleblower, Howard Wilkinson, testified before the TAX3 European Parliament Committee last week.

The statement was given on the day after the European Parliament’s legal affairs Committee adopted its report on the whistleblower protection Directive  – which was significantly stronger than expected.

Wilkinson reported suspicious financial transactions at Danske Bank’s Estonia branch, where he worked until 2014. It has been calculated that up to $20 billion in fraudulent financial activity have been brought to light by Wilkinson’s disclosures.
Continue Reading Danske Bank whistleblower testifies at European Parliament

Danske Bank Whistleblower EU testimony
Danske Bank whistleblower Howard Wilkinson and whistleblower attorney Stephen M. Kohn testify during hearing at the EU Parliament Brussels, Belgium November 21, 2018. https://www.whistleblowers.org

Whistleblower’s Lawyer Calls for End to NDAs that Restrict Rights of Whistleblowers to Report Crimes to Law Enforcement

November 21, 2018. Washington, D.C.  In testimony given today in Brussels, Belgium before the European Parliament’s Special Committee on Financial Crimes, Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance Danske, Bank whistleblower Howard Wilkinson testified concerning the contents of the nondisclosure agreement (NDA) he was required to sign as a condition of obtaining severance pay at the Danske Bank.
Continue Reading Bank Whistleblower Releases Contents to Danske Bank Secrecy Agreement

Whistleblower Lawyer Stephen M. Kohn
Whistleblower attorney Stephen Kohn. ©Leslie Rose Photography

Qui Tam attorney Stephen Kohn asked to offer Expert Testimony on “best practice” for European Whistleblower Law

November 21, 2018. Washington, D.C.  The attorney for Danske Bank money-laundering whistleblower Howard Wilkinson has been invited to testify before the European Parliament’s Special Committee on Financial crimes, Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance in Brussels, Belgium as an expert witness on whistleblower rights. 
Continue Reading Bank Whistleblower’s Attorney to Testify before European Parliament

Danske Bank Whistleblower
Danske Bank whistleblower Howard Wilkinson and attorney Stephen Kohn arrive to hearing at the Danish parliament in Copenhagen, Denmark, November 19, 2018. ©Leslie Rose Photography

November 20, 2018. Washington, D.C. On November 21, at 9:20am (Central European Standard Time – 3:30am Eastern Standard Time).  The Danske Bank money-laundering whistleblower Howard Wilkinson will testify before the European Parliament’s Special Committee on Financial Crimes, Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance in Brussels, Belgium. Wilkinson, a former employee at Danske Bank’s Estonia office, uncovered a massive money-laundering scandal involving billions of dollars flowing out of Russia. 
Continue Reading Bank Whistleblower to Testify before European Parliament on the International Scope of the Danske Bank Money Laundering Scandal

Howard Wilkinson Danish Parliament
Danske Bank whistleblower Howard Wilkinson and attorney Stephen Kohn speak to reporters outside hearing at the Danish parliament in Copenhagen, Denmark, November 19, 2018. ©Leslie Rose Photography

Former Employee’s Warnings Were Ignored by Danske Bank Officials

Today the Danish Parliament heard testimony from Howard Wilkinson, the lone whistleblower in the Danske Bank money laundering scandal. Outside the hearing room the hall was full of reporters looking for comment from Mr. Wilkinson and his whistleblower lawyer, Stephen M. Kohn.  Due to warnings from Danske Bank, which explicitly warned him that he could face criminal or civil prosecution for speaking on the money laundering issues, little has been heard from Mr. Wilkinson prior to today’s appearance.
Continue Reading Danske Bank Whistleblower’s Testimony at Danish Parliament Causes Media Frenzy

Dankse Bank Money-launderingA report released by Bloomberg today states that criminal investigators from the U.S. Department of Justice have contacted Deutsche Bank AG and Bank of America Corp. about transactions they handled for the small Danske Bank branch in Estonia that’s at the center of one of the biggest money-laundering investigations in history. The investigators are also questioning JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s work with the branch.
Continue Reading Justice Department Questioning Deutsche Bank, BofA & JPM Involvement Danske Money-Laundering Scandal

Stephen-M-Kohn-Global-Whistleblower-AttorneyNovember 12, 2018. Washington, D.C. The leading whistleblower and qui tam attorney in the United States, Stephen M. Kohn is referred to as the “Dirty Harry” of Financial Fraud by the Danish press.  Kohn represents Danske Bank whistleblower Howard Wilkinson, who uncovered what some are calling the largest money-laundering scandal in world banking history. 
Continue Reading American Whistleblower Attorney “Dirty Harry” of Denmark’s Financial Fraud

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Photo credit: TaxRebate.org.uk

Washington, D.C. November 8, 2018. Organizers of the OffshoreAlert Conference announced that the leading whistleblower attorney in the United States, Stephen M. Kohn, will speak at next week’s conference in London held at Grange St. Paul’s Hotel, November 12-13. Kohn will give his presentation on Tuesday, November 13 at 1:15 pm.
Continue Reading Top US Whistleblower Attorney to Speak at London Conference on Financial Fraud