Photo: ANP
Deutsche Bank has to pay $186 million in the US because Germany’s largest bank did not take sufficient measures to improve supervision of money laundering. The fine was imposed after an investigation by the US central bank.
In a statement, the Federal Reserve spoke of “unsafe and unsound” banking practices at Deutsche Bank’s US branch. Deutsche Bank’s relationship with a subsidiary of Danske Bank in Estonia was also mentioned. A lot of money was laundered by foreign criminals through this branch of Danske Bank. The Fed said Deutsche Bank had “flawed internal anti-money laundering governance controls and processes” in its relationship with Danske Bank.
According to the Federal Reserve, Deutsche Bank has shown some improvement in money laundering supervision, but there is still a high level of risk. The bank now says it will take additional steps. Deutsche Bank has already hired several additional employees to better oversee financial transactions. Deutsche Bank in the United States has often been fined for misconduct and scandals.
Dutch banks also received heavy fines for negligence in money laundering checks. In 2018, ING reached a settlement with the Public Prosecution Service of €775 million for “gross negligence”. ABN AMRO had to pay a fine of 480 million euros for the 2021 settlement.
