Market News

The financial watchdog has fined banking giant Barclays £42 million over its “poor handling” of money laundering risks.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the fines related to separate failings linked to the WealthTek and Stunt & Co businesses.

It fined Barclays Bank £39.3 million for “failing to adequately manage money laundering risks” related to providing banking services to Stunt & Co, the firm run by socialite James Stunt.

Barclays “did not gather enough information” after starting its relationship with the business and did not carry out “proper” ongoing monitoring, the FCA said.

During this period, between 2014 and 2016, Stunt & Co received £46.8 million from Fowler Oldfield, a “multimillion-pound money laundering operation”.

The FCA said Barclays failed to properly consider the money laundering risks “even after receiving information from law enforcement about suspected money laundering through Fowler Oldfield, and after learning that the police had raided both firms”.

In March, James Stunt was cleared of taking part in a £200 million money laundering plot.

Meanwhile, Barclays Bank UK has been fined £3.1 million after it failed to check it had enough information to understand the money laundering risk before opening a client money account for now-collapsed wealth management firm WealthTek, the FCA said.

It added the Bank failed to see that WealthTek was not permitted by the FCA to hold client money, before clients deposited £34 million into the firm’s account.

Barclays has agreed to make a voluntary payment of £6.3 million to WealthTek’s clients who are facing a shortfall.

Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “The consequences of poor financial crime controls are very real – they allow criminals to launder the proceeds of their crimes, and they allow fraudsters to defraud consumers.

“Banks need to take responsibility and act promptly, particularly when obvious risks are brought to their attention.

“In the first of these cases, Barclays secured a significant reduction in its fine through its extensive co-operation with our investigation and through making a voluntary payment to affected consumers at our request.”

A Barclays spokeswoman said: “Barclays remains deeply committed to the fight against financial crime and fraud.

“The FCA’s investigation relating to Stunt & Co was centred around historical money laundering activity and made no findings that the bank had breached money laundering regulations.

“As acknowledged by the FCA, Barclays undertook an extensive review and self-reported its findings to the FCA.

“Barclays fully co-operated with both investigations and has further strengthened its financial crime and other control capabilities.”