FCA sanctions Barclays' anti-crime error

In particular, the FCA punished the bank with a fine of 39.3 million GBP

“Barclays did not properly take into account the money laundering risks associated with the law firm, even after they had received information from the law enforcement authorities about alleged money laundering by Fowler Oldfield, and after he had learned that the police had searched both companies,” said the FCA in a press release.

The bank initiated only an internal examination of its commitment after the FCA started persecution of another bank, Natwest, because of its relationship with Fowler Oldfield.

In March, two former directors of Fowler Oldfield were convicted of money laundering and sentenced to more than 10 years in prison. However, the owner of Stunt & Co. was acquitted of money laundering rules.

The FCA said that Barclays qualified for a discount on his fine, which had been reduced from GBP from 56.2 million to 39.3 million after he had agreed to pay the case.

Regardless of this, the regulatory authority made a fine of £ 3 million in Barclays Bank UK for its shops with Wealthtek. The headmaster of this company, John Dance, was charged with misuse of position abuse and three fraud cases by false representation in connection with the alleged embezzlement of 64 million pounds between customers between 2014 and 2023.

Dance was not guilty of all charges that were not proven in court. His process is planned for September 2027 in front of the Southwark Crown Court.

The regulatory procedures presented by the FCA against WELTHTEK were encouraged by the consent until the result of the criminal proceedings.

In its procedure against Barclays, the FCA said that the bank had not carried out a fundamental registration check for the company that had shown that the regulatory authority had decided that it was not allowed to keep customer money. Without this check, Barclays opened an account to keep client funds, which then received £ 34 million.

The FCA said that it had done the indictment after Barclays voluntarily agreed to pay WEALTHTEK customers who lost money to pay 6.3 million pounds.

These references together with the “extensive cooperation” of the bank, which contributed to an accelerated settlement leading to a “significant reduction” of its financial punishment, said the FCA. In this case, the regulatory authority also reduced its proposed fine of £ 4.4 million.

In addition to the money sanctions, the FCA said: “Barclays are still committed and invests in an important renovation program to improve the framework for the control of money laundering.”

“The consequences of poor financial crime controls are very real – they enable criminals to wash the proceeds from their crimes, and they enable fraudsters to cheat consumers,” said Therese Chambers, joint executive director for enforcement and market surveillance at FCA in an release.

“Banks have to take responsibility and act immediately, especially if obvious risks are made aware of,” she said.