Barclays Bank Fined Ksh7 Billion Over Financial Crime Risk Lapses
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Barclays Bank has been fined £42 million by the UK’s financial watchdog for failures in its money laundering risk management.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said Barclays had not properly vetted two of its clients, Stunt & Co and WealthTek.
The FCA said Barclays “facilitated the movement of funds linked to financial crime” by providing services to Stunt & Co and said there was “an increased risk” of client money misappropriation or money laundering from its failure to check WealthTek. Barclays said it fully co-operated with both investigations and has “further strengthened its financial crime and other control capabilities”. The bulk of the fine, £39.3 million, was in relation to Stunt & Co.The FCA said Barclays failed to carry out “proper ongoing monitoring” of its account with Stunt & Co.
Money laundering
“In the space of just over a year, Stunt & Co received £46.8 million from Fowler Oldfield, a multimillion-pound money laundering operation,” the regulator said. It added that Barclays only conducted a review of its exposure to Fowler Oldfield after it learned of the FCA’s decision to prosecute NatWest over their relationship with Fowler Oldfield.
The rest of the fine was for WealthTek. The FCA said “one simple check” Barclays could have done on the firm was to look at the Financial Services Register. “Had it done so, it would have seen that WealthTek was not permitted by the FCA to hold client money,” the FCA said.
The FCA said that in December 2024 it had charged John Dance, one of WealthTek’s principal partners, with multiple criminal offences, including money laundering and fraud. His trial is scheduled for September 2027 at Southwark Crown Court.Therese Chambers, from the FCA’s enforcement division, said Barclays got a significant reduction in its fine through its “extensive co-operation” in the investigation of WealthTek and making a voluntary payment to affected clients, although further details were not given. Barclays said it “remains deeply committed to the fight against financial crime and fraud.”
