Online bank Bunq has been fined €2.6 million for not doing enough to stop money laundering between January 2021 and May 2022. The fine was issued by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), which is responsible for checking if banks follow anti-money laundering rules.
The problem was linked to four customers who carried out suspicious money transfers. Bunq did report these customers to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which handles unusual financial activities. But the bank failed to report every suspicious transaction connected to them. According to DNB, this meant that Bunq’s system for monitoring and reporting suspicious money flows was not strong enough.
The central bank stressed that effective checks are important to prevent criminals from using bank accounts to hide or move illegal money. Since the checks did not meet the required standard, Bunq was found to have fallen short of its duties as a financial gatekeeper.
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Dutch Banks Under Scrutiny
Bunq is not the only bank in the Netherlands that has faced penalties for weak money laundering controls. Almost all major banks in the country have been warned or fined in recent years for similar issues.
In 2018, ING Netherlands paid €775 million to settle a money laundering case. Three years later, ABN Amro reached a settlement of €480 million with authorities. Rabobank refused to settle and may now have to appear in court over its own shortcomings.
Smaller banks have also been targeted. Both ASN Bank and Triodos Bank received warnings from DNB to improve their monitoring systems. These examples show that the fight against money laundering continues to be a challenge across the entire Dutch banking sector.
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DNB has made it clear that banks must take their gatekeeper role seriously. This means they need to monitor transactions carefully, report unusual activity quickly, and stop criminals from misusing their services.
Bunq Pushes Back Against Fine
Bunq has defended itself against the fine. The online bank said that it takes its responsibility to protect the financial system very seriously. It also explained that it uses advanced technology to track and review customer transactions. Bunq believes it has been making constant improvements to its systems.
The bank has announced that it will challenge the penalty in court. This shows that it disagrees with the regulator’s judgment and wants the fine to be reviewed by a judge.
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This is not the first time Bunq and DNB have disagreed. A few years ago, Bunq wanted to use artificial intelligence and data analysis to screen customers more efficiently. DNB rejected this approach, and the dispute went to court. In that case, the court ruled that Bunq had violated anti-money laundering rules but also confirmed that using AI for customer checks was not banned.
The fine against Bunq comes at a time when banks across the Netherlands are under pressure to balance strict checks with fair treatment of customers. Finance Minister Heinen admitted last year that tough rules sometimes go too far. He said some banks began discriminating to avoid new fines, making it harder for certain groups of people to open accounts or transfer money. ING recently apologized for this problem and announced reforms.
The case shows once again how closely financial institutions are being monitored. Regulators continue to expect banks to prevent their systems from being misused by criminals, even as new technology and changing rules create ongoing debates between banks and authorities.
