ABN AMRO on Monday announced it agreed to a €480 million (U.S. $575 million) settlement with the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service to resolve years of anti-money laundering (AML) failings. In the announcement, ABN AMRO CEO Robert Swaak stated, “As a bank we do not merely have a legal, but also a moral duty to do our utmost to protect the financial system against abuse by criminals. In fulfilling this duty, we aim to make a meaningful contribution to a safer society. Regretfully, I have to acknowledge that in the past we have been insufficiently successful in properly fulfilling our important role as gatekeeper. This is unacceptable and we take full responsibility for this.”
