Prince Sultan University in Saudi Arabia Whistleblower Case by Howard Wilkinson HW
The assignment requirements attached below
Summarize your findings from the two whistle-blower cases (Howard Wilkinson (danske bank) research paper attached below & Daniel Ellsberg (Pentagon paper) ”do the research paper”) Highlight the similarities and differences between the two cases.
Submit your answers to the following questions. Support your ideas with examples from the whistle-blower cases you studied.
- What are the moral and ethical justifications of whistle-blowing?
- In your view, do the actions of whistle-blowers help or hurt the society? Explain.
- What would you have done if you had been in the positions of the whistle-blowers in the two cases that you studied? Why?
- Provide an example of how someone your age could expose and publicly raise concerns about misconduct or wrongdoing.
Word limit 1000 words
Double space and use Times New Roman font 12.
Marks will be deducted for spelling and grammar errors
The Famous Whistle-blower – Howard Wilkinson
Howard Wilkinson is a former worker at Danske who raised the alarm about illegal laundering of money in 2013 in the financial institution. News reports on the loss of $234 billion led to the realization of a whistleblower with a hidden identity. Mr. Wilkinson wished to remain unknown, but Estonia newspaper went on to reveal his identity (National Whistle-blower Center, 2020). The whistleblower worked in the Danske financial institution from 2007 to 2014. During this time, Wilkinson had raised several whistles blower-reports regarding the illegal laundering of money, but no could listen to him. According to Wilmoth (2018), some other times, the alarm could go off when the basement area of the bank is on fire. And to make it worse, the financial regulatory bodies of Denmark never issued a timely response until nine years later. So, in September 2015, he acknowledged that some $235 billion had been laundered through the Danske accounts for only eight years.
Howard Wilkinson could report the suspicious financial issues to the Danske account manager and the head of compliance and later the institution’s branch manager to delineate on several financial problems in the bank. Later the compliance officer responded and promised Wilkinson that the whole issue was under scrutiny, only for the bank’s branch manager to call Wilkinson that the customer named Dormant Limited Liability Partnership Account had made a wrong filing criterion and the customer would have to refile again. It was at this moment that the whistleblower noticed some plausible behaviors based on the general environment of concerns at the bank (Gurstelle, 2019). If Howard Wilkinson had never revealed anything about money laundering, then it means the massive money laundering in the Danske scandal would never have unfolded, and the Estonia investigations would have taken place. Additionally, Estonia would not be strict on Anti-money laundering as it is today, and the country would never have also noticed about the tax evasion and tax avoidance cases taking place in the Danske bank accounts.
If Howard Wilkinson did nothing, the ethical implications would involve a lack of accountability to the adherence to the code of financial institutions in Estonia and a lack of honest and ethical conduct involving the ethical management of the conflict of interest between professional and personal relations in the Danske. Also, there would be no compliance with the existing government rules, regulations and regulations as well as lack of fair, understandable, full, timely and accurate of the fraud.
The whistleblowing led to a hostile environment to Howard Wilkinson from his employer. He experienced scheduling upsets and termination on his contract on false pretence. Other financial companies may be afraid to hire Howard Wilkinson for fear of blowing up any occurrence of misconduct in the company. It is possible that the whistleblower can be caught up with the punishment that accompanies the crime, and this means that he will face charges and an individual level. In many instances working as a whistleblower leads to violation of one’s contract or even a professional mandate. In this case, Howard Wilkinson may face extra penalties like civil litigations for violating the agreements and confidences.
The money-laundering scheme in Estonia was made public when Mr. Wilkinson confidentially raised concerns regarding illegal money laundering schemes, and news reports went viral with the hidden identity of the whistleblower concerning the loss of $235 billion. However, an Estonian newspaper revealed the identity of Howard Wilkinson. The selection of top whistleblower attorneys Khon, Kohn and Colapinto to defend his ground has also played a part in publicizing the problem.
By making the scheme of money laundering public to the whole world, Mr. Wilkinson has helped in the tightening of the Danish Anti-Money Laundering Act as it was noticed that there are financial firms that play loose on the laws. Carozza & Phillips (2020) note that the country is also Estonia investigetng other sums of money siphoned from the country and hidden from other banks through different means. It also led to the shutting down of Danske Bank for the lack of transparency, credibility and had a bad reputation in the country. Also, the European banking authority investing the Danish and Estonian regulators after suspecting malicious deals from the country and its financial regulatory bodies.
If I were Mr. Wilkinson, I would report all the suspicious activities as many times as possible, launch a private and confidential investigation, hold the information before going to the public and cross-checking the available evidence. Additionally, I would be reporting the problem to international authorities, hire top-notch lawyers in the whistleblowing industry and finally seeking for maximum protection from the authorities.
The reason for carrying out the above steps would be to ensure that I emphasize that there is money laundering by giving as many reports as possible. The only way to get evidence is a thorough investigation, and that could be my top priority before going public. As I have no security at the beginning of the case, I would not be too quick to go public about the problem. The reason for reporting to the international authorities is because the local government had failed to act promptly. My life would be at stake in such a case, and the only way I can live to the entirety of the case is by ensuring that I have adequate security. For proper argument and facts about the case as well as using the appropriate language and context, I would hire top-notch lawyers with robust experience in the whistleblowing industry to help me in arguing my case.
References
Carozza D. & Phillips D. (April 2020). The smoke detector. An interview with Danske Bank whistleblower Howard Wilkinson. Retrieved July 8, 2020, from https://www.fraud-magazine.com/cover-article.aspx?id=4295010144
Gurstelle G., L. (March 4, 2019). Massive Danske Bank Money Laundering Scandal Continues to Unfold. Retrieved July 8, 2020, from https://www.moneylaunderingnews.com/2019/03/massive-danske-bank-money-laundering-scandal-continues-to-unfold/
National Whistle-blower Center (2020). Howard Wilkinson. Bank Fraud Whistle-blower. Retrieved July 8, 2020, from https://www.whistleblowers.org/members/howard-wilkinson/#:~:text=Bank%20Fraud%20Whistleblower-,Howard%20Wilkinson,whistleblower%20but%20not%20the%20identity.
Wilmoth M., J. (October 23, 2018). How the Danske Bank Money-Laundering Scheme Was Uncovered by a Whistle-blower. Retrieved July 8, 2020, from https://kkc.com/blog/how-the-danske-bank-money-laundering-scheme-was-uncovered-by-a-whistleblower/
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