Failure to prevent money laundering? Supervisory authority investigates RBI

It’s about possible failures to combat money laundering. The bank announced this in its annual report published on Thursday. It’s about the so-called “know-your-customer” principle, the report said. This involves checking the personal and business data of a bank’s customers in order to prevent money laundering.

According to the annual report, the regulator is investigating payments from three customers between 2017 and 2020. The RBI From the FMA’s point of view, it was not possible to fully fulfill its obligations under the corresponding administrative regulations. The RBI was informed about the investigation in January 2023. “The administrative penal proceedings are currently ongoing and could lead to an administrative penalty,” the report said.

The investigation in Austria relates to payments involving Russia and data uncovered by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists research network in a project called Cyprus Confidential, a person familiar with the matter said.

A spokesman for the bank said that the RBI will appeal against any punishment. None have been imposed yet. The investigation relates to old payments up to 2020.