Dutch online bank Bunq has been fined €2.6 million (US$3 million) by the Dutch central bank for inadequate money laundering controls.

The regulator said Bunq showed “serious shortcomings” in its anti-money laundering measures between January 2021 and May 2022.

Bunq has appealed the penalty.

The Dutch central bank announced the fine on August 25.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Bunq’s penalty reflects minor violations compared to major bank AML failures

Bunq’s €2.6 million fine represents a fraction of the penalties imposed on larger financial institutions for similar violations.

For context, BNP Paribas holds the record with an $8.9 billion AML fine for processing transactions with sanctioned countries, while TD Bank recently faced a $1.3 billion penalty—the largest ever against a U.S. depository institution12.

Even mid-sized penalties dwarf Bunq’s fine: Deutsche Bank was fined £163 million for facilitating $10 billion in suspicious Russian transactions, while ING Bank paid $900 million for money laundering violations34.

The relatively modest size of Bunq’s penalty suggests the Dutch central bank viewed the violations as less severe than the systemic failures that have plagued major international banks.

This scale difference likely reflects both Bunq’s smaller transaction volumes compared to global banks and potentially less egregious compliance failures during the January 2021 to May 2022 period cited by Dutch regulators.

2️⃣ AML enforcement activity has intensified across the financial sector

Bunq’s fine comes during a period of heightened regulatory enforcement against financial institutions for money laundering controls.

Regulators imposed 97 AML fines totaling over $189 million in just the first half of 2023, indicating sustained pressure on banks to maintain robust compliance programs5.

This enforcement surge extends beyond traditional banks to include fintech companies. The timing of Bunq’s violations—spanning nearly 18 months from January 2021 through May 2022—coincides with this broader crackdown as regulators worldwide have tightened oversight following high-profile money laundering scandals at major banks.