MILAN, March 30 (Reuters) - Italy's data protection authority said on Monday it ‌had fined the country's biggest bank ‌Intesa Sanpaolo 31.8 million euro ($36.41 million) over a data ​breach case that involved some 3,500 customers over two years.

According to the agency's investigation, an Intesa employee accessed banking information of ‌3,573 customers, carrying ⁠out more than 6,600 consultations between February 2022 and April 2024.

"These ⁠unauthorised accesses went undetected by the bank’s internal control systems, revealing significant weaknesses ​in its ​monitoring and prevention ​mechanisms," the authority, known ‌in Italy as the 'Garante', said in a statement.

Intesa Sanpaolo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Among the clients affected were individuals with prominent public roles ‌for whom enhanced control ​measures should have been ​in place, ​the Garante said.

In setting its fine, ‌the authority said it ​took into ​account corrective measures subsequently adopted by the bank to strengthen its internal ​control systems ‌and data security safeguards.

($1 = 0.8734 euros)

(Reporting by ​Elvira Pollina, editing by Cristina ​Carlevaro and Gavin Jones)