Rabobank, the Netherlands’ third-largest retail bank by market share, blocked its customers’ transfers to bitcoin exchanges for ‘ethical reasons’, according to several first-hand customer reports and bank documents leaked to Dutch news sites.
When questioned about the blocks, Rabobank apparently told some customers there were “technical problems” with the transfer, but told others the bank’s own internal Ethics Commission had ruled to disallow bitcoin trading.
Dutch whistleblowing site Publeaks also published an internal Rabobank document first obtained by another website, Tweakers, that appeared to confirm it was the Ethics Commission who had advised its branches not to facilitate bitcoin trading for customers.
Tweakers reported the main reason behind the advice was the lack of government oversight for digital currencies, allowing them to be more easily used for criminal activities like money laundering, child pornography and drug smuggling.
Detailed news link: click here
Link to the leaked document on Tweakers (in Dutch): click here (English translation: click here)