Barclays has been fined GBP 42 million by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for shortcomings in its approach to identifying and managing financial crime risks.
These failures concerned two former clients, namely Stunt & Co and WealthTek. The FCA stated that Barclays failed to properly assess the risk of money laundering before and during its business relationship with Stunt & Co, a gold bullion firm linked to the now-defunct Fowler Oldfield. Authorities had previously connected Fowler Oldfield to a large-scale money laundering scheme. Despite receiving over GBP 46 million from the firm, Barclays continued to offer services to Stunt & Co, even after law enforcement interventions and regulatory alerts.
A significant portion of the fine stems from the bank's delayed response to red flags associated with Fowler Oldfield. The FCA noted that Barclays only initiated a reassessment of its exposure to the company after becoming aware of pending criminal proceedings against NatWest for similar ties.
Failures in due diligence extended to WealthTek
According to Yahoo Finance, Barclays also failed to carry out adequate checks when onboarding WealthTek. The FCA indicated that the bank did not verify WealthTek’s authorisation status before allowing it to operate an account.
According to the same source, Stunt & Co, which is now in liquidation, was permitted to move large sums through its Barclays account without sufficient scrutiny. The FCA argued that by continuing to offer services under those conditions, the bank enabled transactions linked to financial crime.
Officials from Barclays stated that the bank had conducted a detailed internal review and voluntarily disclosed its findings to the regulator. They added that the FCA’s investigation into Stunt & Co did not result in any determination that the bank breached anti-money laundering laws, although it was penalised for wider failings in financial crime controls.
