Guaranty Trust Bank UK Limited (GTBank UK) has reached a settlement with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of the United Kingdom regarding historical Anti-Money Laundering (AML) controls in its operations between October 2014 and July 2019.
The Bank cooperated fully with the FCA investigation and agreed to a penalty of GBP 7,671,800, calculated as a proportion of GTBank UK’s revenues over the relevant period. The sum includes a 30% discount for early settlement.
Focus of the Investigation
The FCA’s investigation centered on GTBank UK’s AML controls and the steps the Bank took to remediate them, ensuring compliance with relevant regulatory requirements.
The findings are final, and no further action is anticipated regarding this matter. The FCA acknowledged that GTBank UK has invested significant time and resources to bring its AML standards up to the required level.
GTBank UK Response
In a statement to Vanguard, Managing Director of GTBank UK, Gbenga Alade, said:
“As a responsible financial services institution committed to best practices, GTBank UK takes its AML obligations extremely seriously. We note with sincere regret the FCA’s findings regarding AML control gaps in our operations in the past and we are very sorry for this.”
He added that necessary steps have been taken to address and resolve the identified gaps:
- No direct customer impairment arose during the period under review.
- The FCA’s findings did not include any instances of suspected money laundering.
- The Bank has reinforced its AML control framework and implemented changes aligned with best practices to maintain the highest operational standards.
