Barclays PLC (LSE:BARC) has been fined £42 million by the UK City watchdog for failures in managing financial crime risk, relating to two separate multimillion-pound money laundering cases.
This included Barclays Bank UK receiving a £3.1 million fine from the Financial Conduct Authority after it opened a client money account for a firm called WealthTek without adequate checks.
The FCA said if Barclays had simply consulted the Financial Services Register, it would have seen that WealthTek was not authorised to hold client money. Clients deposited £34 million into the account before issues were uncovered.
Barclays has also agreed to pay £6.3 million to affected clients.
Separately, Barclays Bank was fined £39.3 million over its handling of banking services for Stunt & Co, which received nearly £47 million from Fowler Oldfield, a company later exposed as part of a multimillion-pound money laundering operation.
The FCA said Barclays did not act even after law enforcement flagged serious concerns, only launching a review after the regulator moved to prosecute NatWest over similar failings.
Therese Chambers, the FCA’s joint enforcement chief, said: “Banks need to take responsibility and act promptly, particularly when obvious risks are brought to their attention.”
Barclays' cooperation with the FCA and its voluntary payment led to a reduced penalty, with the £3.1 million fine reduced from £4.4 million following early settlement, with the £39.3 million likewise reduced from £56.2 million.
The regulator has fined the bank twice before for financial crime control failings, in 2015 and 2022.
The FCA highlighted financial crime as a key supervisory focus for UK retail banks in 2024 and said it would continue pushing firms to improve systems and oversight.
In March, Gregory Frankel and Daniel Rawson, directors of Fowler Oldfield, were convicted of money laundering and sentenced to more than 11 years and 10 years in prison, respectively.
James Stunt, the Director and owner of Stunt & Co, was acquitted of money laundering charges in relation to money received by Stunt & Co from Fowler Oldfield