ABN Amro fined €8.5 million for inadequate money laundering checks
De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) imposed a fine of €8.5 million on ABN Amro for inadequate anti-money laundering controls between September 2023 and September 2024. “DNB identified structural shortcomings in the performance of ongoing monitoring for a portion of its high-risk customers,” the regulator said.
The Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act obliges Dutch banks to scan their customers for signs of money laundering. Banks must know who their customers are, where their money comes from, and what they intend to do with their accounts.
DNB investigated how ABN Amro conducts due diligence for customers with increased integrity risks, looking at five files. It found multiple instances in which ABN Amro failed to sufficiently investigate or act against concrete risk indicators, including large cash withdrawals, transactions involving high-risk countries, large and frequent commission payments, and signals that could indicate circumvention of sanctions against Russia.
According to the regulator, ABN Amro too readily believed customer explanations without verifying them, often closed investigations despite higher risks and without taking adequate measures, and did not consistently identify and assess relevant risk factors in conjunction with one another. “These findings indicate a structural lack of depth in customer due diligence, which DNB considers serious,” the regulator said.
DNB lowered the fine from €10 million to €8.5 million because ABN Amro initiated measures to address the shortcomings. “DNB has also weighed positively ABN Amro’s constructive and cooperative attitude in its remediation efforts.”
ABN Amro said that it accepted DNB’s conclusions and fine. “ABN Amro regrets that, in the files investigated by DNB, it failed to meet the standards expected of the bank regarding the protection of the integrity of the financial system. The bank recognizes the importance of its gatekeeper function and the trust that society places in it.”
ABN Amro said it remains committed to further strengthening its anti-money laundering controls and “meeting the standards that regulators, customers and society expect” of it.
