Two of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA’s) biggest sanctions in the last 12 months related to failures to address financial crime and anti-money laundering (AML) risks according to the authority’s executive director of enforcement and market oversight, Mark Steward.
Speaking at the AML & ABC Forum 2021, he also revealed that correspondent banking and trade finance operations are under scrutiny in some current investigations.
Ongoing investigations
The FCA currently has 42 AML investigations ongoing into firms and individuals. Of these investigations, 25 are into firms and 17 are into individuals.
Investigations involve correspondent banking and trade finance, systems and controls over politically exposed persons, customers with significant cash intensive operations, and transaction monitoring.
Bank prosecution
Earlier this year the FCA said it had commenced criminal proceedings against NatWest Bank in respect of offences under money laundering regulations enacted in 2007.
This is the first criminal prosecution under the act by the FCA and the first prosecution under the act against a bank (Trade-based Financial Crime, 29 March 2021).
Categories: Trade Based Financial crimes News
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