Dutch online bank joins the queue of fines imposition drive of Europe for AML compliance failure, fined €2.6 million

The Dutch Central Bank (DNB) has expanded the anti-money laundering enforcement drive in Europe. DNB has announced a €2.6 million ($3.04 million) fine on an online bank known as Bunq. DNB said that their investigation revealed serious deficiencies in Bunq’s compliance framework for anti-money laundering. The Bunq has formally objected to the decision.

European regulatory authorities are going “all in” to enforce mechanisms for combating money laundering and terrorism financing. Several banks have seen hefty fines imposed over the last few years. 

Starling Bank (a British bank) was fined £29 million by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in October 2024, for failures in its financial crime systems and controls. Revolut, a multinational bank, was fined €3.5 million in April 2025, and Monzo, a credit card company, was fined £29 million in July 2025 due to AML & CFT compliance failures. DNB has fined other banks in the past as well, such as ABN AMRO Bank, which was penalised to pay €15 million for the same reasons.

The Dutch Central Bank found that between 2018 and 2021, bunq failed to implement effective measures to flag and report suspicious transactions, linked to the potential risk of money laundering. According to DNB, the deficiencies persisted despite earlier warnings and enforcement actions. The watchdog said Bunq had not made sustainable improvements during the review period.

Bunq said it would contest the penalty. In a statement, the bank said it took its responsibilities seriously and had invested in new systems to strengthen its monitoring. DNB issued the fine in May 2025, but made the decision public on Aug 25. Legal proceedings of the case are still ongoing as Bunq has filed a formal objection to this decision.

The specific lapses which DNB highlighted were inadequate due diligence of customers, weak checks on client identities, and insufficient risk assessment of transactions. As per the regulator (DNB), Bunq’s monitoring system also failed to detect repeat transactions that might signal illicit activities.

The fines underscore the continuing tension between digital lenders seeking to innovate with automated solutions and regulators demanding effective, verifiable controls against financial crime.