Congress is very close to passing urgently needed whistleblower protections targeting Russian money laundering and sanctions busting. Bipartisan members of Congress recognize that the gapping loopholes in the whistleblower laws covering money laundering and sanctions must be fixed if criminals, such as the Russian oligarchs that keep President Vladimir Putin in power, can be held accountable.
The scope of the problem targeted by the whistleblower legislation is massive. For example, the largest money laundering scheme in history concerned Russian oligarchs, including members of President Putin’s family and the Russian secret police (the FSB). A detailed investigation by the Danske Bank confirmed that Russian millionaires and billionaires illegally used that bank’s offices in Estonia to transfer over $230 billion from Russia and former Soviet states into New York City banks. A whistleblower who first reported the scandal was compelled to resign from his job, sign a highly restrictive nondisclosure agreement and eventually had his identity illegally leaked to pro-Russian newspapers. Danish law provided no protections, the illegal leak was never investigated by the authorities, and ultimately the whistleblower abandoned his career as a banker. None the New York banks that welcomed the billions deposited by their new Russian customers have been held accountable, and their clients continue to enjoy living in elite Manhattan real estate.
The money laundering and sanctions...
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