AFM fines successor to Syntrus Achmea Real Estate & Finance for violating the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act
The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) has imposed two administrative fines of € 850,000 (a total of € 1.7 million) on Achmea Real Estate B.V., the successor to Syntrus Achmea Real Estate & Finance B.V. (SAREF).
An investigation by the AFM has revealed that between 2018 and 2022, SAREF failed to report eleven unusual mortgage transactions across three customer files to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in a timely manner. In addition, insufficient control measures were applied in the three files. These instances constitute violations of the Dutch Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act (Wwft).
Achmea regrets these errors. They should not have occurred, and they do not reflect the company’s values and professional standards. At the time, Achmea proactively informed the AFM and immediately initiated an improvement process to address the identified shortcomings. Solid measures are now in place to ensure that the reporting of unusual transactions and the execution of customer due diligence are fully compliant with the applicable laws and regulations.
The AFM and Achmea have reached a settlement in this case. As part of the settlement, Achmea acknowledges the violations and accepts the fines.