The Dutch public prosecutor's office is investigating the bank ABN Amro for possible money laundering. Investigations into possible violations in the inspection and reporting of suspicious transactions of customers were conducted, informed the investigating authority. It is about the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. The nationalized since the financial crisis bank announced to cooperate with the investigators.
On the stock exchange, the news triggered a price slide. The ABN Amro share temporarily lost more than ten percent of its value in the morning. The prices of bonds issued by the institution also dropped. Investors worry about the financial consequences for the bank, which had been rescued by the Dutch government during the financial crisis.
The bank is still 56 percent state-owned and wants to lower that share. ABN Amro is not the first Dutch bank to deal with money laundering allegations.
Investigations against other banks
Their domestic competitor ING had last year paid 775 million euros to settle a suspected money laundering. She had admitted that she had not done enough to prevent financial breaches by clients.
Most recently, a number of money laundering cases became known to banks in Northern Europe. In particular, the Danish Danske Bank came in the headlines. In this context, the Deutsche Bank was also the focus of the investigators. On Tuesday, employees of the Frankfurt Public Prosecutor's Office and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) began searching for evidence in Deutsche Bank's headquarters to substantiate their suspicion of aid for money laundering.
Specifically, according to the prosecution, it is about a double-digit number of transactions with a total volume of 12.5 million euros. In these cases, the prosecutors suspect that Deutsche Bank has not refunded a suspected money laundering in time or transactions would even have to stop.