Rabobank investigated for suspected Dutch money laundering violations

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch co-operative bank Rabobank on Wednesday said it is under investigation by public prosecutors in the Netherlands for suspected violations of national money laundering laws.

The bank in a statement said it was cooperating with the investigation.

The disclosure follows a 2021 warning by the bank that it had been instructed by the Dutch central bank (DNB) to fix its customer due diligence practices and that it was facing a "punitive enforcement procedure."

Rabobank is one of the Netherlands' three largest banks. Competitors ING Group and ABN Amro incurred massive fines in similar situations, with ING docked $900 million in 2018 and ABN $574 million in 2021.

"The Dutch Public Prosecution Service has informed Rabobank that it is considered a suspect in connection with violation of the Dutch Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act," the company said in a statement.

"Rabobank cannot provide any further information at this moment."

(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by David Evans and Leslie Adler)