The former head of Danske Bank’s Estonian branch, Aivar Rehe, was found dead on September 25, two days after being reported missing from his home in the Tallinn suburb of Pirita. 

Rehe was appointed to head Danske Estonia in 2006 and was in charge of the bank between 2007 and 2015, during which time the branch was revealed to have funnelled billions of euros in a massive breach of national and EU anti-money-laundering regulations. However, he was not among the suspects in the investigation into the laundering of an estimated €200bn. 

Rehe was last seen alive leaving his home at around 10am local time on September 23. A police officer told ETV current affairs show Aktuaalne kaamera that the police had "reason to believe that his life and health may be in jeopardy” at this time. 

Police found Rehe’s body in his own back garden, after calling off a search of nearby forests the previous evening, the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) confirmed to ERR. 

Following numerous reports in the Danish and UK media, Danske Bank admitted last September that an estimated €200bn worth of payments went through its Estonian branch between 2007 and 2015, many of them suspicious.

In February, the Estonian authorities ordered the Danish bank to shut down its Estonian operations, giving it eight months to complete the closure. 

Danske Bank announced on the same day it would also be closing its branches in Lithuania, Latvia, and Russia. That is because of the bank’s strategy to focus on Nordic markets, the bank said.