Brit blew whistle at Danske Bank

A £177bn money-laundering scandal at Danske Bank was exposed by a British staff member, it has been revealed.

Howard Wilkinson was working for the Danish lender in Estonia from 2007 to 2014 and tried to warn his bosses about rule-breaking and unethical behaviour.

The scandal has since forced out Danske’s chief executive Thomas Borgen, 54, and sparked outrage.

Wilkinson emailed top managers in Copenhagen with his concerns – including a warning over links to a UK business called Lantana Trade which appeared to be owned by Russian president Vladimir Putin’s family, although the Kremlin denies a link. Danske did not start a full investigation until 2017.