ING Spain penalised EUR 3.91 mln for AML compliance failure

Spain’s financial intelligence unit, SEPBLAC, issued the penalty alongside a public reprimand, citing ING’s failure to report suspicious transactions as required under Spanish regulations. 

The fine relates to ING Spain’s breach of Article 18 of Law 10/2010, which obligates financial institutions, auditors, and other regulated entities to report any suspected money laundering or terrorism financing. The regulation mandates immediate notification to authorities when a manager or employee detects potentially illicit activity. ING’s non-compliance with this requirement led to the sanction.

Breach of reporting obligations

An official notice confirmed the infraction, stating: ‘Ing Bank NV, branch in Spain, is sanctioned for a very serious infringement of the regulations on the prevention of money laundering.’ The Spanish government approved the penalty in July 2023, but details were only recently published in the Official State Gazette (BOE). The notice specified that the Council of Ministers had imposed the EUR 3,919,300 fine along with a public reprimand. 

Following the ruling, ING acknowledged the penalty and affirmed its cooperation throughout the investigation. A spokesperson for the bank stated that ING had fully collaborated with authorities from the start of the inspection, providing all requested information. The bank also confirmed that it has since implemented corrective measures to address the deficiencies identified by SEPBLAC. 

This is not the first time ING has faced penalties for AML compliance issues. In 2018, the bank paid EUR 775 million in the Netherlands after Dutch prosecutors found that ING clients had used its accounts to launder significant sums.  

At the time, the bank admitted to compliance shortcomings that had allowed money laundering activities to go undetected for years. ING officials responded by stating that the institution had since taken stringent measures to prevent similar breaches.