ABN raises charges for coffeeshops by 1000% to cover money laundering costs

In April ABN agreed to pay €480 million to avoid being prosecuted for failing to supervise money-laundering by its customers
Dutch News (Netherlands)
Thursday, October 28, 2021

coffeeshop3ABN AMRO is raising its bank charges for coffeeshops by 1000% to cover the costs of complying with anti-money laundering laws. From January coffeeshop owners who have a business account with the bank will pay €110 a month, compared to €9.90 presently. The bank has around 250 coffeeshop businesses on its books. ABN said in a statement that the cannabis cafés were ‘an explicit risk’ because of the cost of administering their accounts and the high penalties for non-compliance. ‘For specific groups of client we are calculating extra charges for client audits that we have to perform in our role as gatekeepers,’ said a spokesman.