A whistleblower at Danske Bank says his warnings have been ignored

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – The whistleblower who helped reveal possible money laundering involving Danske Bank (DANSKE.CO) said Monday in the Danish parliament that the bank had ignored his warnings and then offered him money to remain silent.

Suspicious payments totaling € 200 billion by Danske Bank's Estonian subsidiary between 2007 and 2015 triggered investigations in Denmark, Estonia, Great Britain and the United States and cost CEO and the chairman of Denmark's largest lender.

Howard Wilkinson, head of the Baltic Bank's bargaining unit from 2007 to 2014, said Danske Bank's management had not taken his suspicions of money laundering seriously and he did not expect investigations to be conducted.

"By the end of 2018, we are talking about dirty money from 2007 to 2015, there is no chance in the world … that all this money be tracked down and that all criminals lose a single cent," he said.

Wilkinson stated that he had received a waiver from Danske Bank on October 29 allowing him to speak to US authorities.

Danske Bank acknowledged that the anti-money laundering controls in Estonia were insufficient, but in a report published in September, the board of directors, the chairman and the managing director did not fail in their legal obligations.

"In April 2014, it became clear that the bank did not intend to do anything," said the former Danske Bank employee, referring to previous reports on whistleblowing. "There was a curious lack of interest at the management level."

In its own report published by Danske Bank, the first whistle-blower report, entitled "Disclosure of Alert – Knowingly Deal with Criminals in Estonia", was sent to its board of directors, at Group Compliance Department and the Internal Auditor on December 27, 2013.

ULTIMATE RESPONSIBILITY

The bank's former chief executive, Thomas Borgen, resigned after the report, claiming that although he was "personally released from a legal point of view", he assumed "ultimate responsibility" for it. .

The report concluded that no "red flag" had been shared with Borgen when he assumed the ultimate executive responsibility of the Estonian branch between 2009 and 2012.

After the initial results of the bank's internal audit in February 2014, Borgen recommended that all new business be terminated immediately and that existing transactions be closed in a controlled manner, according to the bank's report.

The scandal came on the heels of a major government-imposed tax scandal and fraud scandal at the Danish Ministry of Social Affairs, undermining trust in once-trusted institutions and prompting calls for action from legislators.

Wilkinson also told parliament that the FSA 's financial regulator did not contact him before the publication of a report on allegations of money laundering in May 2018. was not immediately available for comment.

He said that Denmark should officially investigate the Danske Bank's regulation by the FSA regarding its Estonian branch from 2007, including the conduct of senior officials.

In its May decision, the financial regulator stated that it had not found a sufficient basis to prosecute Danske Bank's management, based on its rules that determine whether executives are "fit" to occupy their positions.