NatWest Pleads Guilty to Breaches of AML Regulations

The breaches facilitated around £365m of laundered funds as a result of inadequate monitoring of customer accounts. The total fine will be decided in December 2021.

This is the first time a bank has been prosecuted under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 and the first time a bank will be fined for AML offences so the level of fine is hard to predict.

As this is the FCA’s first prosecution under the MLR 2007, there is no precedent for the level of fine.

The FCA may also decide to take enforcement action separate to the fine imposed by the Courts.

The Money Laundering Regulations allows the FCA to open an investigation into a bank’s systems and processes.

This case will likely set a precedent for the FCA’s approach to investigations and enforcement of AML offences.

Financial institutions are also likely to be focusing their attention to their own systems and processes in monitoring customers accounts and maintain accurate records.