Politics
UK fines GTB N4.1bn for breach in anti-money laundering systems
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined the UK arm of the Guaranty Trust Bank (UK) Limited £7,671,800 (N4.1bn) for serious weaknesses in its anti-money laundering (AML) systems and controls between October 2014 and July 2019. In a statement, the FCA stated that GT Bank failed to engage in adequate customer risk assessments posed by […]
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined the UK arm of the Guaranty Trust Bank (UK) Limited £7,671,800 (N4.1bn) for serious weaknesses in its anti-money laundering (AML) systems and controls between October 2014 and July 2019.
In a statement, the FCA stated that GT Bank failed to engage in adequate customer risk assessments posed by its customers.
“The bank also failed to monitor customer transactions and business relationships to the required standard. These weaknesses were repeatedly highlighted to GT Bank by internal and external sources, including the FCA, but despite this, GT Bank failed to take appropriate action to fix them.”
“From early 2018 GT Bank stopped taking on new customers. Later that year GT Bank agreed to wider voluntary restrictions on business, given the FCA’s ongoing concerns. Requirements remained in place until the middle of 2021 when they were lifted after the bank completed a remediation plan, checked by an independent third party.”
Speaking on the development, the Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA, Mark Steward, said the bank should have acted quickly to put in place adequate AML controls following its fine in 2013 but it failed to do so.
The statement added that GT Bank did not dispute the FCA’s findings and agreed to settle, “which means it has qualified for a 30% discount. Without this discount, the financial penalty would have been £10,959,700.”
Commenting on the issue, Managing Director of GTBank UK, Gbenga Alade, stated that as a responsible financial services institution, it takes AML obligations extremely seriously, adding that the bank regretted the FCA’s findings.
He assured all our stakeholders and the general public that necessary steps have been taken to address and resolve the identified gaps. “Whilst there was no direct customer impairment arising from the period under review, we have since reinforced our AML control framework and implemented changes in our AML processes in line with best practice with a view to ensuring that the highest standards are maintained in our operations.”
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