On December 3, 2025, the Court of Appeal in The Hague approved the Public Prosecution Services request not to further prosecute a former CEO of ING. This CEO was suspected of actually leading the criminal acts for which ING paid a settlement amount of 775 million euros in September 2018.
Previous decision and criminal liability
Initially, the The Hague court ordered the criminal prosecution of this CEO by decision of December 9, 2020. This prosecution led to further investigation and yielded new information and insights. The court now considers that based on the current file and current case law regarding the criminal liability of a director, criminal prosecution is unlikely to lead to a conviction.
Opportunity of the prosecution
Against this background, the court considers it not useful to continue the prosecution of the former CEO for the following reasons. There is a long time lapse, bringing into play the reasonable time limit for trial and the statute of limitations. Furthermore, continuing the prosecution would place a considerable burden on the capacity of both the Public Prosecution Service and the judiciary. Moreover, the initial (decision to) prosecution has already confirmed the norm that directors of a bank are not exempt if they do not take responsibility. The court also takes into account that a settlement has been concluded with the legal entity and that necessary improvement processes have meanwhile been realized. The court has also considered the private interests of the former CEO. Furthermore, further investigation has shown that not only the former CEO but also other directors and managers within ING held a responsible position regarding compliance. Finally, the court considers it important that the former CEO answered questions and provided insight into his role as CEO of a complex international bank during the further investigation and the court hearing.
Judgments
- ECLI:NL:GHDHA:2025:2436
