The Dutch central bank fined ABN Amro for breaking anti-money laundering rules in connection with housing corporation Vestia, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Monday.

Financial sector sources have told the paper the nationalised bank was fined for breaking rules aimed at preventing money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The central bank declined to confirm or deny the report while ABN Amro said in ‘never comments on fines’, the FD said.

The central bank claims ABN Amro was wrong to accept Vestia’s financial chief Marcel de Vries as a private client and says if the bank had applied the rules correctly it would have realised De Vries had very considerable assets for a housing corporation worker.

Corruption

De Vries is under formal investigation for corruption and is said to have received €10m in bribes in connection with Vestia’s derivatives trade.

The paper says the central bank can fine institutions up to €4m for breaking money laundering rules but in this case the fine was just €27,000.

Vestia, the Netherlands’ biggest housing corporation, ran into serious difficulty after speculating on the financial markets on interest rates