N26 in trouble for money laundering

Neobank has long had problems with criminals using the bank's accounts. Two new investigations now show the full extent of the problem.

The smartphone bank N26 has been struggling for some time with money launderers and fraudsters hijacking the accounts of its bank customers. Some time ago, Bafin even considered the problem to be so serious that it appointed a money laundering officer to the Berlin-based bank.

The problem was actually supposed to be reduced, but new figures show that the bank is still struggling with money laundering - and apparently much more frequently than other financial institutions. Handelsblatt asked the State Criminal Police Office in Lower Saxony. They say that around one in ten suspected money laundering reports have come from N26 since 2019; Wirtschaftswoche had previously asked the same question in Brandenburg and came to a similar conclusion.

Banks must report suspected money laundering to the Financial Intelligence Unit in Cologne, which is part of the customs authorities. This unit analyzes the transactions and forwards them to the local state criminal investigation offices if necessary.

It is questionable whether the negative reports about the bank could torpedo the current financing round. The fintech's valuation is apparently set to rise to more than ten billion US dollars if everything goes smoothly.