An investigation on behalf of former and current employees of ING Groep N.V. (NYSE: ING) concerning potential Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) breach of Fiduciary Duty was announced.

ING Groep N.V. has been accused of securities fraud and according to an investigation by a law firm under ERISA employees (former and current) of ING Groep N.V. (NYSE: ING) are eligible to file a ERISA complaint for putting stock options at risk if they can prove their employer violated its fiduciary duty to them. The Fiduciary duty refers to a companys responsibility to the people who invest in it and if an employer puts the companys interest ahead of the investors, it has broken its fiduciary duty, so the investigation. According to the investigation by a law firm involves concerns that ING Groep N.V. (NYSE: ING) and other administrators of the ING Americas Savings Plan and ESOP or the ING Bank & Trust 401k Plan for Iliac Agents may have breached their ERISA-mandated fiduciary duties of loyalty and prudence to participants and beneficiaries of the plans. A breach may have occurred if the fiduciaries failed to manage the assets of the ING Americas Savings Plan and ESOP or the ING Bank & Trust 401k Plan for Iliac Agents prudently and loyally by investing the assets in ING Groep N.V. (NYSE: ING) stock when it was no longer a prudent investment for participants retirement savings, so the investigation.

On Thursday, February 05, 2009, an investor with the ING Groep N.V. filed a proposed securities class action lawsuit against ING Groep N.V. in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of all persons who acquired the 6.375% ING Perpetual Hybrid Capital Securities and/or the 8.50% ING Perpetual Hybrid Capital Securities (NYSE:ISF; NYSE:IGK) of ING Groep N.V. (ING) pursuant or traceable to a false registration statement and two prospectuses issued in connection with the Companys June 2007 and June 2008 offerings of the Securities. According to the complaint the plaintiff alleges that ING Groep N.V. (ING), certain of its affiliates, certain of its officers and directors, the underwriters of the Offerings and its auditor violated the Securities Act of 1933 by issuing false and misleading Registration Statement and Prospectuses. Specifically, ING sold 41,800,000 6.375% Securities at $25 per share for proceeds of over $1 billion in the June 2007 Offering and 80 million 8.50% Securities at $25 per share for proceeds of approximately $2.0 billion in the June 2008 Offering. The Registration Statement/Prospectuses incorporated INGs financial results for 2005/2006 and 2006/2007. Then, after the Offerings were completed, ING announced 2 billion in impairment charges associated with its exposure to bad loans, mortgage-related securities and other pressurized assets, causing the prices of the Securities issued in the Offerings to decline.