UK-based retail bank, National Westminster Bank (NatWest), has been fined over £264 million ($349 million) for its anti-money-laundering failures, wherein the bank accepted black dustbin bags stuffed with cash as deposits from Bradford-based jewelry store Fowler Oldfield. NatWest, part of the NatWest Group, had pleaded guilty to three offenses for failing to comply with the anti-money-laundering regulations in October. As per the bank, the jeweler’s predicted annual turnover had been £15 million (~$20 million) when it was first accepted as a client, but over a five-year period, it made deposits totaling £365 million ($483 million), out of which £264 million ($349 million) had been in cash. The bank has been fined over £264,772,620 (approximately $350 million) by Mrs. Justice Cockerill at the Southwark crown court. It has now become the first financial institution to face criminal prosecution under UK’s anti-money-laundering laws by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Source: The Guardian December 15, 2021 13:46 UTC