Independent ATMs, cash machines that are not owned by the big banks, can be used to launder money. We went undercover to see how independent ATM providers in the Netherlands respond to customers who may want to launder money. At the end of 2023, Zembla receives a tip. Independent ATMs could be used to launder money. In the Netherlands, not all ATMs are owned by a bank. The white-label machines from independent providers are not always filled by certified cash transporters, but also by entrepreneurs who operate an ATM themselves. It is precisely these self-fill ATMs that pose a high money laundering risk, experts say. Criminals can rent an ATM and insert banknotes into it that have been earned through, for example, drug or human trafficking. When unsuspecting customers come to withdraw money, they receive these banknotes. At the same time, the same amount goes from their bank account to the account linked to the ATM and that is in the hands of the criminals. Money laundering expert Dick Crijns says about these self-filling machines: “They can be used as a very good instrument, especially in the first phase of the money laundering process, namely introducing money into the banking system without it being too noticeable.” Crijns worked for decades at the FIOD. The anti-fraud department of the European Commission calls the risk of independent ATMs 'very high' in recent money laundering reports and criticizes the lack of control and alertness in some member states. Supervision of independent ATMs is largely absent in the Netherlands, Zembla discovered, because their providers do not fall under the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act. Our investigative journalists went undercover to find out how the money laundering risk of self-filling machines works in practice. They posed as consultants in the holiday park sector. In doing so, they held interviews with three of the four Dutch ATM providers. Representatives of these companies all state that they want to comply with the law, but do not break off the conversations when they are told that the customer has a criminal record and wants to use the ATM to launder money. The salespeople of one of the companies explain how the turnover can be falsified, so that money can be laundered via the ATM out of sight of the tax authorities. They also offer to arrange a foreign bank account, if the customer 'is not allowed to open an account in the Netherlands'. Another provider calls the ATM 'an ideal money laundering machine' and therefore says that he wants to make firm agreements to prevent fraud. However, he also states that 'nobody will crow' if the machine is filled with an alternative money flow. Former FIOD investigator Van Koningsveld and former public prosecutor Nicole Voorhuis viewed the undercover meetings and judge that the providers ignore numerous 'red flags' during the conversations and seriously fail in assessing money laundering risks. We ask the ATM providers for a response after the undercover recordings. They state that the sellers have overstepped their mark in the undercover conversations, but that no conclusions can be drawn on that basis. The sellers are not involved in the assessment of customers and their statements do not correspond with the policy of the ATM companies, they state. The companies also state that they work according to the rules and with strict protocols that are intended to prevent abuse. And machines are removed if there are suspicions of fraud. According to them, our holiday park ultimately did not pass the admission procedure. Your Services states that they did not intend to supply us with an ATM and that a foreign account cannot be facilitated by them. YourCash states that they have carried out an additional screening that did not lead to negative results. And In2Retail states that they did not turn our journalists away because they were afraid of dealing with criminals. Read the companies' full response to our research here: https://www.bnnvara.nl/zembla/artikel... Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/ZEMBLA_BNNVARA Listen to our research stories in our podcast: Spotify podcast: https://spoti.fi/2UBbCQ6 Apple podcast: https://apple.co/3wVX4ZA Follow us here: Instagram: / zembla_bnnvara Facebook: / zembla.tv Twitter: / zembla LinkedIn: / zembla-bnnvara 00:00 The revelation 00:43 The abuse 03:10 The investigation 09:16 The hearing 10:34 The consequence 11:23 The conclusion 12:05 Want to know more? #money laundering #ATMs #undercover