GTCO Fined $9.3M By UK Financial Regulator Over Systemic Money Laundering Flaws
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The Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), formerly GTBank British division, has been fined 7.6 million pounds ($9.3 million) by the Financial Conduct Authority, a financial regulator based in the United Kingdom due to flaws in its money laundering mechanism.
Between October 2014 and July 2019, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) claimed to have discovered “significant flaws” in systems designed to stop money laundering.
The FCA stated in a statement that GTCO “failed to execute proper client risk assessments during the relevant period, frequently not analyzing or documenting the money laundering threats posed by its customers.”
According to Reuters, Internal and external sources, including the FCA, frequently called GTCO’s attention to these vulnerabilities, but GT Bank failed to take the necessary steps to address them, according to the watchdog.
In August 2013, the FCA already fined GTCO 525,000 pounds for significant and systemic violations of anti-money laundering measures.
The FCA said that GTCO has not disputed its findings and agreed to settle, thereby qualifying for a 30% discount on the fine, which would otherwise have amounted to 11 million pounds.
Managing Director of GTCO UK, Gbenga Alade, said the bank takes its anti-money laundering obligations extremely seriously and noted the FCA’s findings with sincere regret, adding that the FCA found no instances of suspected money laundering.
