ING Bank is the subject of criminal investigations by Dutch authorities regarding various requirements related to the onboarding of clients, money laundering, and corrupt practices. According to one Dutch publication, this is tied to the involvement of an Uzbek 'politically exposed person.'

The Dutch private banking giant made the announcement on page 232 of its recently released annual report. A spokesman for the group told Compliance Matters that "given that the matter is under investigation we cannot comment further other than that we are co-operating with the investigations."

Buried on page 232

The report entry has little else to say, merely adding: "ING Groep has also received related information requests from US authorities. ING Groep and ING Bank are cooperating with such ongoing investigations and requests. It is currently not feasible to determine how the ongoing investigations and requests may be resolved or the timing of any such resolution, nor to estimate reliably the possible timing, scope or amounts of any resulting fines, penalties and/or other outcome, which could be significant."

PEPs from Corruptistan

A Dutch newspaper called Financieele Dagblad has stated that the investigation revolves around, among other things, ING's part in the payment of bribes by the Russian telecom company VimpelCom to a government official from Uzbekistan. Other news reports say that bribes to Gulnara Karimova, the elder daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov who died in September last year, were involved.

The Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) says that it has obtained records that show how Gulnara Karimova (pictured) received some US$1 billions' worth of shares and payments over the years from mobile phone companies in exchange for her influence with the authoritarian strong-man. Karimov was the leader who declared the republic - to which the OCCRP refers as 'Corruptistan' - to be an independent nation on 31 August 1991. The Scandinavian and Russian telecom companies in question allegedly included TeliaSonera, Telenor, MTS, and Alfa Telecom.