Barclays fined £42mn for failed money laundering checks

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The UK’s financial regulator has fined Barclays £42mn for failing to properly manage money laundering risks on two occasions.

The Financial Conduct Authority on Wednesday said Barclays had been fined for “failings in its financial crime risk management”, including opening a client money account for wealth manager WealthTek, which was shut down for “serious regulatory and operational issues”.

“One simple check it could have done was to look at the Financial Services Register before opening the account. Had it done so, it would have seen that WealthTek was not permitted by the FCA to hold client money,” the FCA said.

Barclays has agreed to make a £6.3mn payment to WealthTek’s clients, who have not been able to reclaim all the money they lost, the regulator said.

In the second case, the FCA said Barclays provided banking services to Stunt & Co, which went on to receive £46.8mn from Fowler Oldfield, “a multimillion-pound money laundering operation”.

“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.

The FCA said that Barclays “continues to engage and invest in a significant remediation programme” to improve its anti-money laundering control framework.

This is a developing story