ING says transaction named in FinCEN files was an administrative error
ING has hit back at reports citing the FinCEN files that said a Polish subsidiary of the Dutch bank altered the name of a Russian sender on sanctions blacklists on a large payment in 2014 to conceal the sender’s identity.
In a statement issued this morning, the lender said the reports were misleading and that the name of a sanctioned entity had “erroneously” been added to one field of a transaction in 2014.
“After discovery of this administrative error, the correct payment transaction was executed. This has been discussed with relevant US authorities in 2014 and no further action has been taken,” ING said.
Buzzfeed News and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published a series of articles earlier this week detailing how several international banks moved large sums of allegedly illicit funds for decades despite red flags.
The reports have sent bank stocks around the world tumbling on Monday, and have prompted calls for regulatory reform.
ING’s share price fell over nine per cent on Monday in the wake of the reports. Shares in the Netherlands’ largest lender have fallen 44 per cent this year.
Shares in the bank climbed just over two per cent this morning.
ING were fined €775m by Dutch prosecutors in 2018 after failing for years to identify money laundering and other criminal activity occurring through its accounts.
The Bank of Italy recently lifted a ban on ING taking on new customers in the country that was imposed last year over money laundering concerns.
“Over the past years, ING has taken many steps to enhance the management of compliance risks and embed stronger awareness across the whole organisation,” the lender said.
“These steps are part of a global programme which we have been executing since 2017 in all markets that we are active in.”