Former Head of Danske Bank's Estonian Branch Found Dead -- Update

By Dominic Chopping 

STOCKHOLM -- The former chief executive of Danske Bank's Estonian branch has been found dead, police said, as the troubled lender is embroiled in a huge money-laundering scandal.

Aivar Rehe, 56, headed the Danish bank's branch in Estonia between 2006 and 2015, during which time the bank is accused of having laundered money. His death isn't being treated as suspicious.

Danske is being investigated by authorities in Estonia, Denmark, France and the U.S. over allegations that around $230 billion in suspicious funds from Russia and other former Soviet states entered Europe through its tiny branch in Estonia.

The bank has said it concluded that it was not sufficiently effective in preventing the branch in Estonia from being used for money laundering in the period from 2007 to 2015. On Wednesday, Danske said it was "saddened to learn of the death of Aivar Rehe," adding that its thoughts were with his family.

Mr. Rehe had been missing since Monday morning when he left his Tallinn home by foot and disappeared. His family raised the alarm and search teams had been looking for him since, but police warned Tuesday that they had become concerned that his life and health may be in danger.

Estonian Police and Border Guard Board spokeswoman Tuuli Härson told The Wall Street Journal that he was found Wednesday morning close to his home.

"There are no signs of violence on the body and there is no indication of an accident," a police statement said.

"In the interest of loved ones police won't go into more detail. No investigation will follow."

Write to Dominic Chopping at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 25, 2019 08:48 ET (12:48 GMT)

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