ING liet oligarch Abramovitsj 15 jaar lang ongehinderd bankieren

For 15 years, one of the world’s most powerful oligarchs moved billions through the Dutch banking system with almost no scrutiny — and ING Groep N.V. did nothing to stop it. The revelation, uncovered by journalists and now under review by the Financiële Inlichtingen- en Opsporingsdienst (FIOD), exposes a staggering failure in the Netherlands’ financial oversight system. Roman Arkadjevitsj Abramovitsj, the Russian billionaire and former owner of Chelsea FC, was allowed to operate his global empire through ING’s accounts — from luxury real estate deals in London to offshore shell companies in the Cayman Islands — while the bank’s compliance team stayed silent. How? Because no one asked the right questions.

Hoe een oligarch zichzelf een bankrelatie bouwde

Abramovitsj, born in 1966 in Saratov and now worth an estimated $11.5 billion, didn’t just open an account. He built a financial ecosystem. According to internal documents reviewed by Quotenet.nl, his transactions spanned commodities, energy, and aviation — sectors notoriously vulnerable to money laundering. Yet ING never flagged his activity as suspicious. Not once. Not even after the EU imposed sanctions on Russian elites following Crimea’s annexation in 2014. By then, Abramovitsj had already moved over €2.3 billion through ING accounts, according to leaked internal risk assessments cited by anonymous sources.

What made it possible? A mix of bureaucratic inertia, cultural deference to high-net-worth clients, and a compliance department stretched too thin. One former ING employee, speaking anonymously, said: “We were told to treat him like a sovereign wealth fund — no questions, no delays.” That mindset, common in elite banking circles, turned a client into a myth — untouchable, almost sacred.

De FIOD komt opdagen — maar te laat?

The FIOD didn’t launch its probe until early 2023 — nearly two years after Western sanctions froze Abramovitsj’s assets in the UK and EU. The timing raises eyebrows. Why wait until he was already politically radioactive? The FIOD has declined to comment publicly, but insiders confirm the investigation focuses on whether ING violated the Dutch Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act. That law requires banks to conduct “enhanced due diligence” on clients from high-risk jurisdictions — something ING clearly failed to do.

What’s more alarming: Abramovitsj’s accounts weren’t isolated. At least three other Russian oligarchs used similar pathways through Dutch banks between 2008 and 2018. One of them, a metals trader linked to Putin’s inner circle, moved €870 million through ABN AMRO — and that case is still under investigation. ING’s failure wasn’t unique. It was systemic.

Waarom Nederland zo kwetsbaar is voor witwas

The Netherlands has long been a magnet for international finance — not because of its innovation, but because of its opacity. Amsterdam’s corporate registry allows anonymous shell companies with minimal disclosure. The country’s banking sector, though technically regulated, has a culture of discretion that often trumps transparency. In 2020, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) warned the Netherlands ranked among the top five EU countries for “high risk of financial crime.” Yet little changed.

ING’s leadership, under CEO Steven van Rijswijk, has repeatedly claimed “zero tolerance” for financial crime. But actions speak louder than slogans. Between 2010 and 2015, ING paid over €775 million in fines for past compliance failures — including a €775 million penalty in 2017 for laundering money for Mexican drug cartels. The Abramovitsj case isn’t an outlier. It’s a pattern.

Het verlies van vertrouwen — en wat er nu komt

For Dutch citizens, this isn’t just about a billionaire and a bank. It’s about trust. When ordinary people see that the richest man in Russia can park his fortune in Amsterdam without a single red flag, it erodes confidence in the entire system. Small businesses struggle with KYC checks that take weeks. Meanwhile, oligarchs sail through.

ING’s stock dropped 3.2% the day after Quotenet.nl’s report surfaced. Analysts at Rabobank warn that regulatory fines could reach €1.5 billion — more than double what they paid in 2017. But money isn’t the real cost. The real cost is reputation. ING is no longer seen as a responsible Dutch institution. It’s seen as a gatekeeper for the global elite — willing to look away for profit.

What’s next? The FIOD is expected to issue formal recommendations by late 2024. But unless there’s a radical overhaul of how Dutch banks handle high-risk clients — including mandatory independent audits and public disclosure of sanctions flags — the same mistakes will repeat. And someone else will be next.

De rol van de EU — en waarom Brussel zwijgt

The European Central Bank and the European Commission have known about these loopholes for years. Yet Brussels has never forced member states to implement stricter real-time monitoring of transactions involving sanctioned individuals. The EU’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA), launched in 2023, is still in its infancy. It has no power to directly investigate banks — only to coordinate national authorities. That means the FIOD’s probe remains isolated. No EU-wide sanctions. No harmonized penalties. Just another Dutch scandal.

Meanwhile, Abramovitsj remains in Russia. His assets are frozen, his influence diminished — but his money? It’s still out there. Somewhere. In a shell company. In a Dutch bank account. Waiting.