The Dutch tax office has tracked down over €8bn in savings held in secret bank accounts since 2002, the NRC reports on Tuesday.

In total, the seizures have generated €1.6bn in fines and taxes, the paper says, based on its own research.

The finance ministry began serious efforts to trace foreign bank accounts in 2002.

People who voluntarily report their foreign accounts pay smaller fines and surcharges than those who are caught out.

The NRC says 29,000 people have taken advantage of the amnesty and that 5,000 requests for clemency still have to be processed.

Most of the money came from Swiss and Belgian bank accounts, followed by Luxemburg and to a much lesser extent Germany.