It seems there is no end to misdeeds of British banks. This time, the City watchdog was irritated because Barclays didn't want to "irritate" big-spending clients by asking too much about where their billions were coming from.
According to FCA, Barclays failed to take proper checks when transferring £1.88 billion of funds from "ultra-high-net-worth clients".
Lenders are supposed to be extra careful when shifting such funds around, in case the money comes from illegal activities and is being laundered through the system.
Barclays, though, appears to have bent over backwards to avoid putting out its richest customers, says the Guardian.
"Barclays went to unacceptable lengths to accommodate the clients," FCA commented.
The Financial Times reported that the £72m fine meted out to Barclays
over poor checks on certain very wealthy clients refers to a £1.88bn
transaction that the lender described as an "elephant deal" for which one
senior manager wanted to "race through" the due diligence process.
The FCA is not stating that the deal was connected to a financial crime, says FT. But it says the bank cut corners on checks to avoid irritating important but risky clients. It also went to considerable lengths to keep the transactions confidential, the FCA
The bank's shares added 1.09% to trade at 223.92p.
