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The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Barclays Bank £42 million, citing failures in its money laundering risk management processes. The FCA found that Barclays had not adequately vetted two clients, Stunt & Co and WealthTek, leading to the facilitation of "the movement of funds linked to financial crime" and "an increased risk" of money laundering.
The FCA has fined Barclays for failings in financial crime controls twice before.
In 2022, it fined the bank £783,800 for oversight failings in its relationship with collapsed payments firm Premier FX, which the FCA said presented "particularly high risks of financial crime and fraud".
In 2015, Barclays was fined £72m for failing to minimise the risks of financial crime in relation to some of its ultra-wealthy clients, some of whom had high political profiles.
Barclays said it fully co-operated with both investigations and has "further strengthened its financial crime and other control capabilities".
The bulk of the fine, £39.3m, was in relation to Stunt & Co.
The FCA said Barclays failed to carry out "proper ongoing monitoring" of its account with Stunt & Co.
"In the space of just over a year, Stunt & Co received £46.8 million from Fowler Oldfield, a multimillion-pound money laundering operation," the regulator said. It added that Barclays only conducted a review of its exposure to Fowler Oldfield after it learned of the FCA's decision to prosecute NatWest over their relationship with Fowler Oldfield.
The rest of the fine was for WealthTek. The FCA said "one simple check" Barclays could have done on the firm was to look at the Financial Services Register.
"Had it done so, it would have seen that WealthTek was not permitted by the FCA to hold client money," the FCA said.
The FCA said that in December 2024 it had charged John Dance, one of WealthTek's principal partners, with multiple criminal offences, including money laundering and fraud.
Therese Chambers, from the FCA's enforcement division, said Barclays got a significant reduction in its fine through its "extensive co-operation" in the investigation of WealthTek and making a voluntary payment to affected clients, although further details were not given.
