ING Bank under scrutiny in money laundering case of former EU Commissioner Didier Reynders
Didier Reynders © Marzia Cosenza / European Commission
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ING Bank under scrutiny in money laundering case of former EU Commissioner Didier Reynders
The National Bank of Belgium is investigating ING bank over its duty to notify potential money laundering activities by former European Commissioner Didier Reynders, Belgian newspaper Le Soir reported on Thursday.
Belgian federal police in December raided several addresses linked to Reynders, Follow the Money and Le Soir reported. Reynders is suspected of having laundered money for over a decade, first by depositing cash of dubious origins on his bank account and later through the purchase of tickets of the Belgian national lottery.
Reynders served as justice commissioner between December 2019 and December 2024. He was Belgian finance minister between 1999 and 2011 and foreign minister until 2019.
In 2018, during his time as foreign affairs minister, ING Belgium questioned Reynders about cash worth some 800,000 euros that he had been depositing on his account, Le Soir reported based on multiple unnamed sources. He is suspected of having continued laundering money – approximately another 200,000 euros – through the lottery after that time. Reynders was responsible for overseeing the national lottery between 2007 to 2011.
Despite having noticed suspicious activities already in 2018, it wasn't until 2023, after Belgian prosecutors started investigating the case, that ING notified the suspicious activities on Reynders’ account with the Belgian financial intelligence unit, Le Soir reported.
ING Bank told Le Soir it is “not authorised to comment on individual cases”. It specified that it “assumes the role of guardian of the financial system and respects all its legal obligations in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing.”
“If the circumstances so require, ING Belgium will cooperate with the judicial authorities in all transparency,” it added.
The National Bank of Belgium and the Brussels Prosecutors’ Office did not respond to Le Soir’s questions about the case.
Police raided his homes and questioned him and his wife – a former magistrate – as part of the money laundering investigation just days after he left office as European Commissioner for Justice.
Through his lawyer, Reynders has denied the allegations He allegedly told police that he has a gambling problem. The National Lottery has rejected this argument, however, arguing that the financial movement on his accounts were too sophisticated to be explained by an addiction. Reynders and his wife hold the two biggest gambling accounts, according to the National Lottery.
Banks, like lawyers, accountants and real estate agents, among others, have to notify Belgium’s financial intelligence unit of any suspicious activities that could indicate money laundering. Notifying entities need to be particularly vigilant when it comes to possible money laundering by prominent politicians such as Reynders.
Belgium’s National Bank supervises the money laundering rules and has the power to inspect the bank, request documents, get access to its IT systems, and question staff members.