ING Shares Drop After Disclosure Of Criminal Probe; Says 'significant' Penalties Possible

Dutch bank ING disclosed in its annual report published last week that it is a target of a criminal investigation into money laundering and corruption that could result in significant fines. The company on Wednesday was not confirming on record a report in Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad that linked the investigation to a case that prosecutors said allegedly involved bribes paid to the daughter of the former president of Uzbekistan by several telecommunications companies, including Amsterdam-based Vimpelcom. That press report cited a Dutch prosecution spokeswoman, according to Reuters. ING said in its annual report that it had also received requests for information from U.S. authorities and is cooperating. ING's ADRs were trading down over 5% in U.S. premarket trading.