Page 23 - Barclays Bank (B)

2015: Anti-money laundering and Financial Crime

Checks

In November 2015,
Barclays were fined

£72m, the largest fine

ever imposed by the

FCA for cutting corners
on financial crime checks and not properly monitoring a £1.9bn

transaction carried out on behalf of politically exposed persons
(PEPs) in 2011/12. It was claimed Barclays' staff were so keen to

attract the ultra-rich clients that they failed to carry out proper

anti-financial crime checks.

No evidence of any crime was actually found, but the FCA

Authority said Barclays had not carried out the appropriate checks
to establish the purpose of the £1.9bn transaction, or to

sufficiently corroborate the source of the funds from the clients

who were said to be prominent people in public life. It was
claimed that Barclays had applied a lower level of oversight than

that required for other business relationships of a much lower risk

profile.