A whistleblower from Danske said that a large European bank had processed $ 150 billion in payments

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – The whistleblower who revealed the alleged money laundering involving Danske Bank (DANSKE.CO) said on Monday that a large European bank had helped deal with up to $ 150 billion in suspicious payments and that two US lenders were also involved.

Howard Wilkinson, who led Danske Bank's bargaining unit in the Baltic States from 2007 to 2014, did not name the banks, but Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), JP Morgan (JPM.N) and Bank of America (BAC.N) all dollar transactions cleared for Danske's Estonian branch, sources told Reuters.

Deutsche Bank, Bank of America and JPMorgan, which, according to one source, terminated its correspondent relationship with the Danske branch in Tallinn in 2013, all declined to comment.

The Danish, Estonian, British and US authorities are investigating payments totaling € 200 billion made by Danske Bank's small Estonian agency between 2007 and 2015 as part of a growing global scandal.

"I suppose that 150 billion dollars passed through this bank (the big European bank) in the United States," said the British at a Danish parliamentary hearing.

"Nobody really knows where this money went. All we know is that the last three banks to see it were these three big banks in the United States. It was the last check; and when that failed, the funds went to the global financial system, "said Wilkinson.

Acting CEO, Jesper Nielsen, said the case had tarnished Danske Bank's reputation.

"We have exceeded the expectations of society vis-à-vis us. The case and the course of events do not reflect the bank we want to be, "Nielsen told Danish lawmakers after Wilkinson's testimony.

Wilkinson said Danske Bank had offered cash not to speak, but had obtained a waiver last month allowing him to talk to some US authorities, adding that he did not expect not that investigations of "dirty money" bear fruit.

"There is no chance in the world … that all this money is found and that all criminals lose a dime," he said.

"LACK OF INTEREST"

Danske Bank acknowledged that its money laundering controls in Estonia were inadequate, but in a report published in September, its board, president and CEO did not fail to comply with 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."

Wilkinson said that at the beginning of January 2014, he had examined the three most profitable accounts involving British limited companies (LLPs).

"They were all wrong. Not only that, they all basically resembled each other. And it turned out that they all had the same head office in a suburb of North London … I forwarded them. In April, none of the accounts … had been closed. "

"I warned them (Danske) that if they did not do a proper investigation and did not make the proper report to the police, I was going to do it myself," Wilkinson said.

In September of this year, Danske Bank announced that the first whistleblower report, entitled "Disclosure of Alert – Knowledgeable Treatment of Criminals in the Estonian Branch", was sent to its board in late December 2013. executive, to the group's compliance and to its internal auditor.

However, the bank's report concludes that the "red flags" were not pooled with ex-CEO Thomas Borgen when he held the ultimate executive responsibility for Estonia between 2009 and 2012.

Borgen left his position as CEO following the September report, claiming that even though he had been "laundered from a legal point of view," he was assuming "ultimate responsibility".

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 said the FSA's financial regulator in Denmark, who was not immediately available for comment, had not contacted him before publishing a report on the allegations in May 2018, and called on the Danish authorities to investigate the role of the FSA.

"If Howard Wilkinson is right in saying that he can not talk to the Danish authorities without being sued, that obviously has to change. The authorities should thoroughly investigate the case and can only do so if they can get information, "Danish Foreign Minister Rasmus Jarlov said on Twitter.

The FSA said in May that it had not found a sufficient basis to prosecute Danske Bank's management.