Private Bank

The fine was imposed on a bank which had unlawfully processed "personal data of all former customers". The bank admitted that it kept data on former customers in order to keep a black list, so that it would not provide these persons with a new bank account. Initially, the bank justified this with reference to the German Banking Act to take security measures against customers suspected of money laundering. The Berlin Data Protection Authority held this to be illegal. The Berlin Data Protection Authority argues that only those who are actually suspected of money laundering or who have other valid reasons for refusing a new account may be included in a settlement file. At the moment, it is unclear whether the fine proceesding are legally concluded. Authority: Data Protection Authority of Berlin