ABN AMRO : pleased with money laundering plans

ABN AMRO is pleased with the Dutch cabinet's plans to clamp down on money laundering. ABN AMRO CEO Kees van Dijkhuizen: 'This is an important step among many other initiatives towards improving cooperation between the government and banks and among banks in an effort to make society even safer and to keep out criminals.'

Today, Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra and Justice & Security Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus presented their joint plan of action to combat money laundering and terrorism financing. An estimated 16 billion euros are laundered in the Netherlands each year - mainly proceeds from drug crimes and fraud, more than half of which is estimated to have been earned outside the country.

As one of the gatekeepers of the financial system, ABN AMRO is well aware that money laundering can only be successfully tackled if the right parties, such as government and other banks, join forces. The proposals presented today offer good opportunities to do so, in particular by paving the way for government and banks and for banks among themselves to share information. 'The fact that we will be able to start using citizen service numbers (BSN) and have access to the official register of company owners, UBO, will really make a difference,' says Van Dijkhuizen. 'This is definitely going to help us make society a safer place.'

According to Van Dijkhuizen the plan presented today will also offer opportunities to scale up ambitions in this area. 'Not only do we want to keep crooks at bay, but we are also looking to assume our responsibility as a bank to help make cities safer. With this in mind, we could consider drawing up a joint agenda which we could use to set priorities and share information. This will enable us to be even more effective in our fight against criminals who want to grow rich at the expense of society.'