DUE TO “MONEY LAUNDERING SYSTEM FAILURES,” THE UK FINES GTBANK

The British affiliate of Nigeria’s Guaranty Trust Bank was hit with a $9.3 million fine by the United Kingdom’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority.

The FCA claimed in a statement on Tuesday that the fine was imposed as a result of shortcomings in GTBank’s anti-money laundering systems and controls.

According to Reuters, who cited the statement, both internal and external sources at the bank brought attention to the failures.

The FCA also pointed out that despite warnings, GT Bank did not take the necessary steps to fix the system.

The Financial Conduct Authority stated that “these weaknesses were repeatedly brought to GT Bank’s attention by internal and external sources, including the FCA, but GT Bank failed to take appropriate action to fix them.”

The Guaranty Trust Bank has reportedly agreed to settle and has not disputed the FCA’s findings.

In a statement provided to PUNCH after being contacted, the bank stated: “Guaranty Trust Bank UK Limited has reached settlement with the FCA, accepting findings in relation to historical anti-money laundering controls in its operations in the period of October 2014 to July 2019.”

The bank added that it “has fully cooperated with the FCA investigation and has agreed to a penalty sum of GBP7,671,800, which has been calculated by reference to a percentage of the revenues of GTBank UK over the relevant period and includes a 30% discount for early settlement.”