Football fraud, money laundering not blocked by financial firms: Dutch central bank

Banks and trust companies can do much more to prevent corruption, such as money laundering and fraud, in football, the Dutch central bank DNB concluded after investigating how financial firms deal with the risk of shady practices in football, the Volkskrant reports.

Large sums of money are often moved about in the football world, according to the bank. "In combination with other factors such as a closed culture, perverse incentives, potential conflicts of interest and the possible use of corporate structures to conceal cash flows, this makes the sector vulnerable to money laundering and other integrity risks", DNB wrote. Transactions on the transfer market are especially vulnerable due to a lack of transparency, the bank wrote, according to the newspaper.

A survey DNB did among 19 financial institutions that deal with the football world found that only two of them took specific measures to avoid becoming involved in money laundering or fraud.

The DNB proposed a number of specific measures to address these risks, though think it best if the institutions themselves decide which measures to take to best counteract shady practices. The proposed measures include properly investigating where funds come from in football transactions and better supervising the financial flows by properly mapping the network around football. Transactions to and from football "bigwigs" could also do with extra attention, given the increased corruption risk, the bank suggests.