Barclays Plc was fined £42 million ($56 million) over failures to properly identify financial crime risks with two clients.
The bulk of the fine is tied to Barclays’ failure to adequately manage money laundering risks tied to Stunt & Co, according to a statement on Wednesday. Over the course of a year, the FCA found that Stunt & Co received £46.8 million from Fowler Oldfield, a company that was at the heart of one of the UK’s largest ever money-laundering trials.
“Barclays failed to properly consider the money laundering risks associated with the firm even after receiving information from law enforcement about suspected money laundering through Fowler Oldfield, and after learning that the police had raided both firms,” the FCA said in the statement. “By providing ongoing banking services to Stunt & Co, Barclays facilitated the movement of funds linked to financial crime.”
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Barclays also failed to properly gather enough information about another client — WealthTek — before opening a money account for the company. WealthTek was not permitted by the FCA to hold client money at the time Barclays gave it the account, the supervisor said.
“One simple check it could have done was to look at the Financial Services Register before opening the account,” the FCA said. “Without the right information about WealthTek and how the account would be used, there was an increased risk of misappropriation of client money or money laundering.”
Barclays agreed to make a voluntary payment of £6.3 million to WealthTek’s clients who have a shortfall in the money they have been able to reclaim from the firm, according to the statement. That helped the firm secure a reduction in the ultimate fine it faced from the FCA.
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“Barclays remains deeply committed to the fight against financial crime and fraud,” a spokesperson said, adding it was all centered around historical money laundering activity. The lender “fully cooperated with both investigations and has further strengthened its financial crime and other control capabilities,” the representative said.