ABN AMRO Bank NV is under investigation by the Dutch public prosecutor over its compliance of anti-money laundering and terrorist financing laws.
The Amsterdam-based lender said Sept. 25 that it is fully coordinating with authorities on the matter without giving any further details. Prosecutors said ABN Amro is suspected of late reporting of or not reporting suspicious transactions, not properly looking into clients and keeping suspicious customers for too long, Reuters reported.
CEO Kees van Dijkhuizen warned during ABN Amro's second-quarter earnings conference call that the bank may face potential regulatory sanctions such as instruction and/or fines after being told by the Dutch central bank that it should accelerate its due diligence process. In that quarter, ABN Amro increased provisions for its client due diligence program.
The bank, along with four local peers, recently announced a plan to set up Transaction Monitoring Netherlands, an organization that can monitor payment transactions as part of efforts to combat financial crime.
