FCA Probe into Barclays for Anti-Money Laundering Failings

The Financial Conduct Authority opened a probe into Barclays for suspected failings in compliance with the AML systems, reported the UK Watchdog.

According to the report, the UK watchdog has started an investigation into Barclays due to suspected failure in the banking laws and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) compliance. As per sources, Last spring, Barclays was notified by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority), ordering an independent review of the financial crime prevention and detection systems. 

The FCA’s order came in response to concerns about the volume of KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML occurrences in the bank. However, each case was relatively minor, but the total sum of them was the main concern, the report added. 

The review proceedings, listed as Section 166, is a procedure that typically entails an external accountancy or legal organisation drafting a recommendation report for changes.

The review is a component of FCA’s supervisory tools; if discovered any evidence of misconduct is from the said body, the reviews may be forwarded to the watchdog enforcement branch for further investigations.

The sources revealed that the FCA’s Section 166 response was sent to the former head of corporate banking, Alistair Currie, and the overseer of UK retail and wealth business, Matt Hammerstein.

Barclays and FCA did not comment on the development and Barclay’s refusal to respond to these reports add to its existing set of problems. 

The former CEO of Barclays, Jes Staley, was forced to resign from the position in November 2021 because of the inquiry against him linked to a prior relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, who was named in the US lawsuit allegedly abusing women, as per reports. 

In 2022, after mistakenly selling structured financial instruments worth $17.7 billion, Barclays agreed to pay $361 million to the US Securities and Exchange commission.

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