DUTCH PROBERS TO QUIZ UBS CHIEF OVER ING LAUNDERING CASE

A Dutch court on Wednesday ordered a criminal investigation into the role UBS Chief Executive Ralph Hamers played in ING Group’s failure to crack down on money laundering when he was head of the Dutch bank, Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi and Toby Sterling reported for Reuters.

The investigation comes only a month after Hamers became head of UBS, the world’s largest wealth manager, at a time when it is trying to move on from a legacy of costly court cases over money laundering and tax evasion. The Swiss bank said Hamers would stay in his role while prosecutors conducted their investigation and that extensive due diligence, including an independent assessment of the Dutch anti-money laundering issues, had been conducted before he was hired.

“I have full confidence in Ralph’s ability to lead our firm,” UBS Chairman Axel Weber said. “We were fully satisfied with the results of these independent evaluations and the assessment of the Dutch prosecutor at the time.”

UBS has contingency plans for another executive to deputize for Hamers should he be called for an extended period of questioning, a source familiar with the matter said. It was not immediately clear how long the Dutch investigation would last though one source said they did not expect a resolution until 2022 at the earliest.