Britain’s financial regulator has launched criminal action against NatWest over allegations it failed to detect suspicious activity by a customer depositing nearly £400 million (€463 million) over five years, mostly in cash. The case is the first criminal action taken against a British bank under a 2007 money laundering law, carrying a maximum penalty of an unlimited fine. Around £365 million was paid into the unnamed customer’s accounts, of which around £264 million was in cash, the watchdog alleged. NatWest had previously disclosed in its 2020 annual report that it had been notified in July 2017 of an FCA investigation under the money laundering law in relation to “certain money service businesses and related parties”. “NatWest Group takes extremely seriously its responsibility to seek to prevent money laundering by third parties and accordingly has made significant, multi-year investments in its financial crime systems and controls,” it said.

Source: The Irish Times March 16, 2021 10:31 UTC