Again, FCA Fines Guaranty Trust Bank UK for Weak Anti-money-Laundering Systems

The United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has once again fined Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) in the UK for serious weaknesses in the bank’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) systems and controls between October 2014 and July 2019.

The UK financial services regulatory authority disclosed this on Tuesday in a press release available on its website.

GTBank UK was fined £7,671,800 for failing to address serious weaknesses in its anti-money laundering (AML) systems and controls during the period under review.

Stating some of the core reasons for the fine, FCA said the bank failed to conduct customer risk assessments during the period, adding that in most cases GTBank UK does not evaluate or document the risks (money laundering) posed by its customers.

The bank was also accused of failing to monitor transactions of customers and business relationships to the required standard despite repeated warnings.

In August 2013, FCA fined GTBank £525,000 for a similar issue described as a “serious and systemic failure”. Meaning, the bank has now incurred a total fine of £8.197 million for its system failure and weak operating system, Investors King research has shown.

According to FCA, these weaknesses were consistently highlighted to the bank by internal and external sources, including the FCA, but despite this, GT Bank failed to take appropriate action to fix them.

Commenting on the fine, Mark Steward, Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA, said “GT Bank should have acted quickly to put in place adequate AML controls following its fine in 2013 but it failed to do so. GT Bank did not develop a plan that was capable of addressing its AML weaknesses, exposing it and the broader market to financial crime risks for a prolonged period.”

Explaining the implication of the bank’s failure to itself and its customers, Steward said “Firms must protect themselves and those dealing with them from financial crime risks, especially money laundering. The FCA is determined to ensure the market for financial services is safe, clean and trusted with robust systems and controls in place to stymie financial crime. The FCA will continue to take action when these standards are not met.”