Dutch privacy watchdog AP has fined US credit and data trader Experian for breaking privacy laws and has urged the company to stop processing personal information to judge credit worthiness or face further fines, the Financieele Dagblad said on Thursday.

The fine has not been made public by the AP but was handed down at the end of last year, the FD reported. The paper gleaned information about the case from the anonymised court ruling.

Experian does mention in its annual report that the fine could amount to “4% of global sales”, which reached $7 billion in the company’s most recent book year.

“The AP’s position is contrary to established regulatory positions in our other EU markets, which recognise that legitimate interest is a proper basis to process credit reference data in order to maintain a fair and efficient lending process,” the company said.

Experian, which declined to answer the FD’s detailed questions, is challenging the ruling.

The Dutch courts agreed to keep details of the case quiet until Experian has exhausted all avenues of appeal.

In January, RTL reported that Experian and other data processors were being investigated by the AP for trading in the addresses of millions of Dutch nationals. The company told RTL at the time it would stop the Dutch service in March.