It is against this dramatic backdrop that Natwest now finds itself heading to court.
The High Street lender, formerly known as Royal Bank of Scotland, was this week revealed to have provided banking services to the firm at the centre of the criminal operation – gold dealer Fowler Oldfield.
That led regulators to launch criminal proceedings against the bank on Tuesday, in a move that has surprised many in the City.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) accused Natwest of breaching anti-money-laundering regulations when handling a string of cash deposits made by Fowler Oldfield between November 2011 and October 2016.
Some £365million worth of payments into the firm s account included £264million deposited in bank notes, the FCA alleges.
ALEX BRUMMER: FCA shows its mettle by bringing charges against NatWest
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Natwest rocked by £365m money laundering scandal
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By Jaclyn Jaeger2021-03-16T17:24:00+00:00
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced Tuesday it has brought landmark criminal proceedings against a subsidiary of NatWest Group (formerly the Royal Bank of Scotland Group) concerning alleged money laundering violations.
The case is the first criminal prosecution brought by the FCA under the 2007 Money Laundering Regulations (MLR) and the first under the law against a bank.
The details: The FCA alleges National Westminster Bank (NatWest) violated multiple regulations of the MLR requiring firms to “determine, conduct, and demonstrate risk sensitive due diligence and ongoing monitoring of its relationships with its customers for the purposes of preventing money laundering.”