Barclays Bank has received penalties for failings in financial crime controls by the FCA for the first time since 2022
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Barclays a total of $56.3m (£42m) for shortcomings in its financial crime risk management, across two separate cases involving Stunt & Co and WealthTek.
The largest penalty relates to Barclays Bank PLC’s provision of banking services to Stunt & Co, where the bank failed to properly assess and manage money laundering risks.
According to the FCA, Barclays did not gather sufficient information at the start of its relationship with the firm and failed to carry out proper ongoing monitoring. This allowed Stunt & Co to receive $62.73m (£46.8m) from Fowler Oldfield, a multimillion-pound money laundering operation, over the course of just over a year.
Barclays was warned by law enforcement about suspected money laundering through Fowler Oldfield and learned police had raided both firms. However, the bank only reviewed its exposure after the FCA announced its decision to prosecute NatWest over similar links.
“The consequences of poor financial crime controls are very real – they allow criminals to launder the proceeds of their crimes, and they allow fraudsters to defraud consumers,” said Therese Chambers, Joint Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA.
“Banks need to take responsibility and act promptly, particularly when obvious risks are brought to their attention.”
The FCA concluded that Barclays had facilitated the movement of funds linked to financial crime. The bank was fined $52.68 (£39.3m), reduced from $75.2m (£56.1m) following early settlement.
A simple’ oversight
In a separate case, Barclays was fined $4.15m (£3.1m) for opening a client money account for WealthTek, a firm not authorised by the FCA to hold client funds.
The FCA found Barclays had failed to perform a basic check of the Financial Services Register, which would have revealed WealthTek’s lack of permission. The regulator described this as a “simple” oversight which significantly increased the risk of misappropriation or money laundering.
Clients went on to deposit $45.5m (£34m) into the account. To address the shortfall in recoverable funds, Barclays agreed to make a voluntary payment of $8.44m (£6.3m) to affected clients.
“Barclays secured a significant reduction in its fine through its extensive co-operation with our investigation and through making a voluntary payment to affected consumers at our request,” Chambers added.
In December 2024, the FCA charged John Dance, WealthTek’s principal partner, with multiple criminal offences including fraud and money laundering. His trial is scheduled for September 2027 at Southwark Crown Court.
