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ABN Amro shares fell 4% in early trading in Amsterdam on Monday 15th, March 2021, following reports that the Dutch bank might face a higher-than-expected penalty in an ongoing money laundering investigation.
The bank’s annual report published last week described an investigation by Dutch prosecutors, started in September 2019, which was broader than previously stated. It said it was now also suspected of “culpable money laundering”.
Previously, the allegations had been limited to ABN failing to spot accounts involved in money laundering, failing to end relations with suspicious clients and failing to report such transactions to the relevant authorities.
A spokesman for ABN Amro said the lender was fully cooperating with the investigation, but gave no further comment.
This could lead to a higher fine for the bank, and could raise the possibility of bank executives being held responsible individually for money laundering.
“The fine could be bigger than what the market had previously expected, since it means that they may have found something more on this,” KBC Securities analyst Jason Kalamboussis said.
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