Why your notification is important
If financial companies do not comply with laws and regulations, this will be harmful to consumers and to the proper operation of the market. It is therefore important that wrongdoings are reported to the AFM. The more we know, the more we will be able to do. Anyone can make notifications to the AFM. Your notification will be treated confidentially. It is also possible to make an anonymous notification.
Your notifications of incidents and wrongdoings will help the AFM to target its supervision at financial companies that do not comply with the law. These notifications make a significant contribution to a better-quality financial sector and to consumer protection.
What will the AFM do with your notification?
The AFM reviews all notifications it receives and handles them confidentially, irrespective of the type of notifier or notification. We assess each notification and supplement it with relevant information, such as information in notifications received earlier. We may contact you if the information needs clarifying.
Duty to maintain confidentiality
Some wrongdoings you report are so serious that we would like to take action straight away. After all, the sooner we can warn or intervene, the more grief we can prevent. However, this is often impossible in practice. The AFM, too, has to comply with laws and regulations. An example of this is the duty to maintain confidentiality. Although we are allowed to ask anyone all sorts of questions, the information we can publicly share is a lot less. This makes things difficult, especially where it involves the wrongdoings you report to us.An investigation takes time
The AFM must always conduct its own investigation before it can impose measures. Even if your notification of wrongdoing is submitted with a complete legally substantiated file, the AFM cannot just proceed from this file. An investigation takes time. In some cases, a lot of time. For example, a notifier will not be aware of legal proceedings being brought against measures that the AFM intends to impose. Likewise, measures are not always published, simply because the AFM is not allowed to do so.What can you expect from us?
The AFM has the statutory duty to maintain confidentiality in respect of supervision-related confidential data and information. For this reason, we are unable to update you on any follow-up to your notification.