Corruption investigation launched against ING

The Public Prosecutor is busy with a criminal investigation against ING in which the bank is suspected of involvement in international corruption, money laundering, violating rules for customer due diligence and failing to report unusual transactions, a spokesperson for the Prosecutor's Office confirmed to the Financieele Dagblad on Tuesday.

The newspaper posed questions to the Prosecutor's Office after the bank's annual report, published last week, stated that ING is the subject of a Dutch criminal investigation. It also says that American authorities filed information requests with ING that have to do with the Dutch investigation.

The ING report states that the investigations may have "significant" consequences and that ING Groep and ING Bank are cooperating with the authorities. The bank can't discuss the scope or timeframe of the investigations. And a spokesperson for the bank would give FD no further details.

The Public Prosecutor would also not give the bank any information, in the interest of the investigation. The reason for the Dutch investigation is unclear. As is whether individual ING employees are suspected.

FD's own research revealed that the investigation revolves around, among other things, ING's role in the payment of bribes by the Russian telecom company VimpelCom to a government official from Uzbekistan. The bank violated the Act to prevent money laundering and terrorism funding, according to the newspaper.

On Tuesday international investigative journalist collaboration OCCRP linked ING to a Russian money laundering scheme suspected of laundering 19 billion dollars between January 2011 and October 2014.