DutchNews.nl - DutchNews.nl brings daily news from The Netherlands in English

20 June 2025
Newsletter Donate Advertise
  • News
  • Life in the Netherlands
  • Jobs
  • Podcast
  • About us
  • Search
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Politics
  • Art and culture
  • Sport
  • Europe
  • Society
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Housing
  • Education
  • News
    • Home
    • Economy
    • Politics
    • Art and culture
    • Sport
    • Europe
    • Society
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
    • Education
  • Life in the Netherlands
    • Latest
    • Opinion
    • Books
    • Travel
    • 10 Questions
    • Learning Dutch
    • Inburgering with DN
    • Food & Drink
    • Ask us anything
  • Jobs
  • Podcast
  • About us
    • Team
    • Donate
    • Advertise
    • Writing for Dutch News
    • Contact us
    • Privacy
    • Newsletter
  • Search

Criminals launder €13bn a year in the Netherlands, most crime cash is Dutch

November 13, 2019
Criminal cash seized by the police. Photo: Politie.nl
Criminal cash seized by the police. Photo: Politie.nl

At least €13bn is laundered through the Netherlands on an annual basis, with most of the money coming from Dutch criminal enterprises, according to new research quoted in the Finanancieele Dagblad.

Utrecht University professor Brigitte Unger estimates that half the €16bn generated by crime in the Netherlands is laundered through Dutch institutions, with the rest – some €5bn – coming from abroad.

This, the FD said, shows that the Netherlands is not as popular a place to launder money as some claim. For example, some €340bn a year is laundered through Britain and the US, the paper said. This represents some 40% of the total amount estimated to be laundered via the 36 OECD countries.

Together, the laundered money accounts for some 1.6% of Dutch GDP, Unger said at a closed meeting to discuss her research.

She and her team were given access to highly confidential police, fraud squad, public prosecution and tax information to carry out the research, as well as suspicious transaction information from banks and casinos.

Earlier this year, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project reported on a money laundering operation which moved billions of euros out of Russia and of which almost €1bn of the money ended up in the Netherlands.

And in September, ABN Amro confirmed the Dutch public prosecution department had launched a criminal investigation into possible money laundering at the bank. ING has also been fined €775m for failing to comply properly with money laundering rules.

Share this article
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Copy URL
Economy Society
Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation
Latest
Show more
Vaccination rates among young children continue to drop
The Hague goes into lockdown ahead of Nato summit
The Netherlands backs sanctions on far-right Israeli ministers
Official property values rise 5% this year, with more to come
ABN Amro fined €15 million for breaching bonus rules
NewsHomeEconomyPoliticsArt and cultureSportEuropeSocietyEnvironmentHealthHousingEducation
Life in the NetherlandsLatestOpinionBooksTravel10 QuestionsLearning DutchInburgering with DNFood & DrinkAsk us anything
About usTeamDonateAdvertiseWriting for Dutch NewsContact usPrivacyNewsletter
© 2025 DutchNews | Cookie settings

Help us to keep providing you information about coronavirus in the Netherlands.

Many thanks to everyone who has donated to DutchNews.nl in recent days!

We could not provide this service without you. If you have not yet made a contribution, you can do so here.

The DutchNews.nl team

Donate now

Dutchnews Survey

Please help us making DutchNews.nl a better read by taking part in a short survey.

Take part now