Danske Bank Whistleblower Howard Wilkinson Wins Prestigious International Award

Today, during a virtual ceremony, Danske Bank whistleblower Howard Wilkinson was chosen as a joint winner of the Allard Prize for International Integrity. The Allard is awarded to individuals, a group, or an organization that demonstrates exceptional leadership and courage in protecting human rights while upholding the Rule of Law, promoting transparency and fighting corruption. The $100,000 CAD Prize was established in 2012 and is one of the world’s largest anti-corruption prizes. Wilkinson will share the 2020 prize with Daphne Caruana-Galizia.

Previous recipients include Anna Hazare -2013 (India), John Githongo – 2015 joint winner (Kenya), Rafael Marques de Morais – 2015 joint winner (Angola), Khadija Ismayilova 2017 (Azerbaijan), and William (Bill) Binney – 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award (United States).

Howard Wilkinson exposed the largest money laundering scheme in history. “Whistleblowing is important,” Wilkinson said during his acceptance speech. “Whistleblowing should be valued as a part of the society we want to live in.”

“Howard Wilkinson put his career and safety on the line to expose the largest money laundering scheme in history. We are grateful to the selection committee for recognizing his contributions to human rights and anti-corruption,” said Stephen M. Kohn, Wilkinson’s whistleblower attorney.

“We applaud the Allard prize for calling attention to the critical role whistleblowers play in exposing fraud and recognizing those who lose their careers when they do the right thing,” Kohn continued.

Wilkinson was recently profiled by Whistleblower Network News as its “Whistleblower of the Week.”