Dutch FD and FinTelegram recently reported on the FIOD‘s investigation of ING subsidiary Payvision. A report by the Dutch regulator DNB accuses Payvision of violating regulatory requirements and financial laws to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing and supporting cybercrime activities. Suspects besides Payvision include former directors Rudolf Booker and Cheng-Lim Li. ING issued the following statement, saying essentially that they worked hard to improve Payvision‘s risk systems.
[Beginn Statement]
ING has taken note of recent media reports, stating that Payvision is the subject of a criminal investigation for violations of anti-money laundering regulations. ING is aware of an investigation into Payvision but is not in a position to comment further. However, we can state that ING is not a subject of this investigation, which is understood to be aimed at actions dating from the period before ING acquired Payvision.
As previously mentioned, after our September 2018 settlement with Dutch authorities, attention for anti-money laundering has significantly increased, also at various authorities. ING actively cooperates with authorities and other parties in the fight against financial economic crime.
ING acquired 75% of Payvision’s shares in early 2018. The remaining shares were acquired in 2019 and 2020, with the former management leaving the company in 2020. After the acquisition, Payvision started offboarding customer groups that did not fit the desired risk profile. It was agreed with Payvision’s former management at the time of acquisition that part of the customer base would be transferred to them after the transition.
Many steps were taken to further align Payvision’s governance and risk profile with that of ING. Payvision went through a process in which all customer records and transaction monitoring were brought in line with regulations. During this process, Payvision made numerous reports to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). The risk and compliance function were strengthened with a new transaction monitoring system and the Chief Risk Officer was included in the management team. Functional reporting lines were established and a significant proportion of Payvision staff (>10%) have since been engaged in compliance-related activities.
In October 2021, the phasing out of Payvision was announced. The phasing out of activities and the transfer of customers to a new service provider were completed earlier in 2022.
