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Today the attorney for Danske Bank money-laundering whistleblower Howard Wilkinson released a statement prior to Wilkinson's appearance before the Danish Parliament. Wilkinson, a former employee at Danske Bank’s Estonia office, uncovered a massive money-laundering scandal involving billions of dollars flowing out of Russia.
In the statement issued today, Wilkinson’s whistleblower attorney Stephen M. Kohn, said his client is “fully committed to cooperating with the Danish Parliament, despite the threat of civil and criminal prosecution under bank secrecy laws and other rules that restrict whistleblower rights in Europe.” Kohn explained that Mr. Wilkinson will testify despite the fact that Denmark has some of the weakest whistleblower protections in Europe: “We have been informed that legal protections for whistleblowers who appear before Parliament do not exist,” Kohn said.
“Bank secrecy can serve an important function. Covering up illegal banking is not one of them,” Kohn added.
Mr. Wilkinson formerly worked as a highly respected professional at the Danske Bank and warned Danske Bank managers of the illegal money laundering scheme in 2013-14.
After his testimony on Monday, Mr. Wilkinson and his attorney Stephen Kohn will make a brief statement in front of the Danish Parliament, and answer a limited number of questions.
The hearing before the Business, Growth and Export Committee of the Danish Parliament is scheduled to commence at 9:30am on November 19, 2018.
Wilkinson is also scheduled to testify before the European Parliament on November 21.
- Mr. Kohn’s full statement is linked here.
- The hearing program is linked here: HØRING om Hvidvask og Danske Bank
