The Berlin-based digital bank N26 is one of the most important challenger banks in the EU but has constant problems fighting money laundering.
Investigators often come across N26 accounts in money laundering proceedings as the cases mount.
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Accounts from N26 play a role in 42 of 362 money laundering proceedings registered with the Brandenburg State Criminal Police Office this year, said an authority spokesman when asked by WirtschaftsWoche.
This corresponds to a share of more than ten percent. In the cases with N26 reference there is “often” a “background of fraud,” said the spokesman.
N26 says in its website: “We report any suspicious transactions that indicate the existence of money laundering, terrorist financing, or any other criminal offense to the German Financial Transaction Investigation Unit (FIU). Further investigations are then carried out by responsible law enforcement authorities.”
The 362 cases are the cases that the State Criminal Police Office received from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) docked at customs.
Banks and other financial service providers send so-called money laundering reports to the FIU, which checks them and submits them to the state criminal investigation offices and public prosecutors for further investigations.
An N26 spokeswoman said that if suspicion of fraud and/or money laundering was confirmed, the digital bank accounts “immediately”.
N26 has “in the past few months” again significantly increased and strengthened its “investment” and “measures in the areas of security”. “As a result, we were able to record fraudulent accounts even faster, close them and report them to the FIU,” said the spokeswoman.
