Dutch prosecutors are investigating whether banks in the country were part of a huge money laundering operation in Russia, according to a report by Reuters.
The information came to light after a group of news organizations called the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) released a report about the issue. Shares in Dutch banks ABN AMRO and ING fell on the news.
The report was based on leaked documents that had details about bank transactions worth upwards of $470 billion, through 1.3 million transfers involving 233,000 companies.
Spokeswoman Marieke van der Molen said prosecutors were going to get together with peers in other countries and coordinate efforts.
“We have received signs of Dutch involvement. This has our attention and we are now evaluating all information,” she said. “This is an international puzzle that has to be solved internationally.”
One of the news organizations, a magazine called de Groene Amsterdammer, said ING, ABN AMRO and Rabobank were involved in millions in illegal payments.
The scheme has been called the “Troika Laundromat” because it revolves around a Russian investment bank called Troika Dialog.
ING was already fined $900 million in September for not noticing criminal activity in its accounts for years. The stock fell 3.9 percent to 10.80 euros on Wednesday (March 6), after a 3.3 percent drop on Tuesday.
ING spokesman Raymond Vermeulen said the bank couldn’t comment specifically, but is taking the allegations seriously. ABN AMRO said it wasn’t involved in the Troika scandal because the branch named was sold to Royal Bank of Scotland in 2008.
“We are committed to combating financial crime and money laundering in line with our regulations, and have controls and safeguards in place to identify, assess, monitor and mitigate these risks,” RBS said.
ABN AMRO shares rebounded by 0.2 percent after dipping on Tuesday.
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