ING under investigation in Belgium for not reporting knowledge of money laundering case

ING is under investigation in Belgium in connection with a money laundering case surrounding former European Commissioner Didier Reynders, the newspaper Le Soir reported. The bank is said to have been aware since 2018 of regular cash deposits by Reynders, who is suspected of money laundering.

The paper claims that ING asked Reynders about the regular deposits of high sums of money since 2018. He allegedly stopped doing this midway through 2018. The former Belgian Finance Minister is said to have started spending large sums of cash on lottery tickets at that time. The National Bank of Belgium, the country's central bank, wants to know exactly how this happened.

Le Noir reported that the timing in the case is the reason for the investigation into the bank. ING allegedly made its first statement about this to the Belgian Financial Intelligence Unit in 2023.

However, the investigation into the alleged money laundering practices began in March 2022 after reports were made by the National Lottery. Reynders has pleaded his innocence throughout the case.

The National Bank and ING did not respond to Le Soir. ING told the Belgian press agency Belga that the bank "is not authorized by law to comment on individual files.”

The bank also emphasized that it “takes its role as guardian of the financial system" seriously. "If required, ING Belgium will cooperate with the judicial authorities in a fully transparent manner.”