German regulator fines Commerzbank over anti-money laundering non-compliance

German financial watchdog BaFin has ordered Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) to pay a fine of 1.45 million euros ($1.55 million) for breaching its anti-money laundering duties, the regulator said on Monday.

“Commerzbank AG and the former comdirect Bank AG, of which Commerzbank AG is the universal successor, had breached their supervisory duties,” said the regulator in a statement.

According to BaFin, the bank did not update customer data on time and did not provide proper security measures, which resulted in inadequate due diligence in three cases, thus violating its anti-money laundering obligations.

Commerzbank said on Monday it has reworked due diligence and updated customer data after the comdirect acquisition.
“Processes were adjusted accordingly and the data updates were completed in full in 2022,” it added.
“BaFin’s requirements were of course fulfilled”.

Germany’s second-largest listed lender had fully taken over online bank comdirect as part of a corporate overhaul in 2020.

Article Credit: https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/german-finance-watchdog-orders-commerzbank-pay-145-mln-euro-fine-2024-04-22/