1) Who were the politicians involved? There had to be politicians involved, you don't get this big without politicians.First up, Reuters via Insurance Journal, November 19:
2) Why is Bill Browder showing up in so many of the stories of the goings-on in Estonia and now, Germany with the Deutsche Bank connection?*
Danske Bank
has been caught up in one of the largest-ever money laundering
scandals. Howard Wilkinson, the whistleblower who first alerted
Denmark’s biggest bank to the problem, testified before the Danish
parliament on Monday.
HOW BIG A SCANDAL IS THIS? Some 200 billion euros ($227 billion) in payments flowed through the non-resident portfolio of Danske Bank’s tiny Estonian branch between 2007 and 2015. The bank eventually commissioned a report which concluded in September that many of these payments were suspicious....MUCH MORE
WHERE WAS THIS MONEY FROM?
Most of the payments came from Estonia, Russia, Latvia and Cyprus and Britain, the report said. Shell companies were used to disguise the identities of those involved, former chairman Ole Andersen has told Reuters.
AND WHERE WAS IT GOING? Payments went to Estonia, Latvia, China, Switzerland, Turkey, Britain and more than 150 other countries, the report said.
WHO BLEW THE WHISTLE? Howard Wilkinson, the head of the bank’s trading unit in the Baltics from 2007 to 2014, was the whistleblower who had warned the executive board in Copenhagen in 2013 and 2014 about suspicious activities at the Estonian branch, Danish newspaper Berlingske reported in September.
WHY DIDN’T AUTHORITIES ACT SOONER? Denmark’s financial watchdog faces an inquiry by the European Union’s banking supervisor, and the Danish business minister has criticized the regulator for not being critical enough towards the bank and for trusting it too much.
HAS ANYONE BEEN FOUND RESPONSIBLE?
Not yet. The case is under criminal investigation in Denmark, Estonia and the United States. The Danish state prosecutor’s investigation includes whether top management can be held personally liable. Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has said it is investigating the use of UK-registered companies....
And on Browder, he was popping up back in September's "Danske Bank CEO quits over $234 billion money laundering scandal".
And here's an even earlier Reuters reference via CNBC's "TIMELINE-How Danske Bank's Estonian money laundering scandal unfolded":
...July-August: Estonian and Danish prosecutors launch criminal investigations in the wake of a complaint by Bill Browder, the chief of asset manager Hermitage Capital. Once the biggest foreign money manager in Russia, Browder has led a vocal campaign against the Kremlin....While Bloomberg had this on July 24:
...A total of 26 bankers who worked for Danske Bank A/S in Estonia are the targets of a new criminal complaint filed inside the euro zone by Bill Browder....So, enquiring minds want to know, "Wassup William?"
* WSJ—"Deutsche Bank Handled $150 Billion of Potentially Suspicious Flows Tied to Danske"
I suppose there is at least one more question: Who was short Danske Bank in July?
