The UK subsidiary of Nigeria’s Guaranty Trust Bank was fined 7.6 million pounds ($9.3 million) by Britain’s financial watchdog for what it claims are additional shortcomings in the bank’s anti-money-laundering systems and procedures.
According to a statement by the body on Tuesday, the FCA said, Reuters reported that the failures were highlighted by the bank’s internal and external sources.
“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.”
The Financial Conduct Authority said, “GT Bank has not disputed the findings and agreed to settle, making it eligible for a 30 percent discount on the fine, down from the original 10.96 million pounds ($13.3m).
GT Bank’s conduct is particularly egregious as this is not the first time that the bank has faced enforcement action in relation to its AML controls,” the statement said.
The managing director of GT Bank UK, Gbenga Alade said the bank takes its anti-money laundering obligations extremely seriously and noted the FCA’s findings with sincere regret, adding that the FCA found no instances of suspected money laundering.
“We would like to assure all our stakeholders and the general public that necessary steps have been taken to address and resolve the identified gaps,” Alade said in a statement.