‘Wake-up call’ for UK financial firms as internal control failures drive £1bn fines Business UK financial services firms, which faced £1bn worth of fines since 2021 for internal control failings, should be “seriously concerned”, says the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors (CIIA). More than half of the 97 Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) enforcement cases analysed by CIIA relate to firms “not getting the basics right”, with many linked [...]
The end of the tax year is approaching: Here are the key allowances to use Personal Finance The end of the tax year is fast approaching with April 5 just weeks away. Many people will be awaiting the opportunity to renew their ISAs to manage their tax bill, but others will be prioritising making the use of key tax allowances. Many of these allowances cannot be carried forward into the new tax [...]
How money laundering took over our high streets Opinion American candy stores and vape shops are the new face of financial crime, hiding in plain sight, says Marit Rodevand Walk down almost any British high street today and you’ll see them: neon-lit candy stores selling purportedly “American” sweets, vape shops and barbers with a faded poster of Cristiano Ronaldo taped to the window. Superficially, these [...]
Financial services firms dealt tens of millions in regulatory fines July 17, 2025 While deregulation may be the political mood, UK watchdogs are sharpening their swords as banking giants bleed millions in regulatory fines. In under just ten days, the Financial Conduct Authority and Bank of England handed out £74.9m worth of fines to a trio of UK financial services firms. Leading the pack, and most recently, was [...]
Barclays slapped with £42m fine for financial crime failings July 16, 2025 Barclays has been hit with a £42m fine by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for separate instances where the bank failed in its financial crime risk management. The City watchdog blasted Barclays for failing to check it had gathered “sufficient information to understand the money laundering risk” before it opened a client money account for [...]
UK takes down multibillion-dollar Russian crypto laundering network December 4, 2024 The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has smashed a multibillion-dollar Russian money laundering scheme which operated in Britain and had ties to the Kremlin. Investigators said on Wednesday that uncovering the Russian-speaking network, run out of London, Moscow and Dubai, marked the NCAs biggest money laundering case for a decade. The investigation was given the [...]
Metro Bank given hefty fine by City regulator for financial crime failings November 12, 2024 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that Metro Bank had failed to adequately monitor over 60m transactions for money laundering risks between June 2016 and December 2020.
Citi was drug trafficking duo’s favourite bank, DEA officials say July 1, 2024 Senior US law enforcement officials have argued a pair of drug traffickers opted to launder money through Citigroup as they considered the bank's fraud controls "more favourable".
Ukraine: Global anti-money laundering body must ‘blacklist’ Russia after North Korea defence pact June 22, 2024 Ukraine has called on the world’s anti-money laundering standards body to ‘blacklist’ Russia after the nation bolstered its ties with North Korea.
HSBC ‘seriously violated’ Swiss money laundering rules, regulator says June 18, 2024 HSBC's Swiss private bank failed to conduct adequate checks on more than $300m (£236m) worth of transactions over the course of 13 years, the country's banking regulator has found.