[ad_1]
That’s a surprise: UBS boss Ralph Hamers (54) is outdone by his past at ING. The Dutch judiciary is reopening an old money laundering case. This was resolved in 2018 with an agreement. The accusations came at a time when Hamers was in charge of the Dutch bank.
A Dutch court ordered the prosecutor to investigate Hamer’s role in the matter, UBS reports. He adds: “UBS has complete confidence in Ralph Hamers’ ability to run UBS.”
ING had to pay the equivalent of a fine of more than 830 million francs in 2018 for lack of control of clients’ accounts. It was the largest sanction for money laundering in the history of the Netherlands.
UBS President Axel Weber (63) also supports his new CEO in a message to employees. The Dutchman replaced veteran UBS boss Sergio Ermotti (60) in November. UBS had extensively reviewed Hamers’ background as part of its evaluation of the CEO candidates.
Investors were not satisfied with the decision.
This also included an independent third party assessment of the money laundering case at his former employer ING. “We were completely satisfied with the results of these independent evaluations and the evaluation of the Dutch prosecutor at that time,” said the UBS president.
The proceedings ended in a settlement, but a Dutch court continued the investigation because the bank’s investors, of all people, were not satisfied with the decision.
So now the process is rolling out again. In the sights of the new head of UBS: “The court considers it important to uphold the rule in public criminal proceedings that the managers of a bank do not get away with impunity if they are actually responsible for prohibited conduct,” said the appeal court of Hague.
Investors are not impressed by the news: UBS shares rose slightly at noon.
