Shareholders in ING have refused to discharge the bank’s management and supervisory boards from liability for the banking group’s 2018 results.

The highly unusual step means shareholders are technically free to make claims against the boards in the wake of the €775m out-of-court settlement agreed by ING and the Dutch public prosecution department last year.

The deal was reached because of the bank’s lax approach to money laundering.

In total, 62% of shareholders voted not to discharge the boards from liability, which means they consider the boards may not have carried out their duties properly.

The country’s two largest pension funds APG and PGGM and shareholders’ lobby group VEB are among the organisations which voted against the motion.