Minister wants banks to team up against money laundering, despite privacy concerns
Minister Eelco Heinen of Finance wants banks to work together when checking transactions and customers for signs of money laundering. Parliament previously raised concerns of privacy violations in such controls. But banks’ current methods for guarding against money laundering are out of control and some sacrifices will have to be made, Heinen said in a letter to parliament in which he explained his vision for the financial sector, NOS reports.
Money laundering checks cost banks 1.4 billion euros annually, Heinen wrote. Banks now jointly employ 13,000 people to monitor transactions and signal unusual patterns. That amounts to one in five bank employees focused only on detecting money laundering.
The strict implementation of the rules also hinders citizens and businesses from opening accounts. Banks are excluding entire economic sectors where they suspect they’d have to carry out extensive checks, Heinen said. “We know of examples of impertinent interrogations, obstacles to access to payment transactions, and even discrimination,” the Minister said.
In the past, banks tried to carry out part of the money laundering checks together under the name Transaction Monitoring Netherlands. Parliament opposed this approach, raising concerns about privacy violations. The Dutch Data Protection Authority had the same objections.
Heinen wants to reopen discussions on this joint approach. “Being strict on criminals, not violating privacy, and less regulatory pressure: we can’t do it all at once. We have to dare to choose,” he wrote.
He wants to create more room for banks to share data and wants to work with parliament to find a “new balance,” Heinen said.
