The Hague Court of Appeal wants the Public Prosecution Service to prosecute Ralph Hamers, former CEO of ING Bank

ING Bank settled for 775 million euros with the Public Prosecution Service in 2018, due to a failing anti-money laundering policy. However, there has not been investigative work done around Ralph Hamers. Pieter Lakeman, chairman of Stichting Onderzoek Bedrijfs Informatie (SOBI) asked the Court of Appeal to compel the Public Prosecution Service to prosecute Ralph Hamers, who has been CEO of the Swiss bank UBS since September 2020.

The Court considers it important ‘that the standard is confirmed in public criminal proceedings and that bank directors cannot go unpunished if prohibited conduct actually took place during their leadership. Citizens must be able to see that such actions are also not accepted by the government’.

Pieter Lakeman (1942) founded Stichting Onderzoek Bedrijfs Informatie (SOBI) in 1976. He brought many proceedings against listed companies that had prepared incorrect annual financial statements. He proved that Credit Lyonnais Bank Nederland had not made a profit of 1 million guilders in 1981 but lost 124 million guilders. Pieter Lakeman also filed a wide variety of complaints against auditors who were guilty of misconduct, including the provision of misleading financial information. In October 2009, Lakeman recommended that DSB Bank account holders withdraw their savings. Many account holders followed the recommendation, which meant that DSB Bank had to file for bankruptcy. Owner Dirk Scheringa only wanted to pay the injured party a total of 26 million euros. Thanks to Pieter Lakeman's commitment, around 350 million euros were ultimately paid out. More via www.sobi.nl.