Punch reported that the UK has assessed a fine to Nigeria’s Guaranty Trust Bank.
The British subsidiary of Nigeria’s Guaranty Trust Bank was fined 7.6 million pounds ($9.3 million) by the Financial Conduct Authority, a UK financial watchdog.
The FCA said in a statement on Tuesday that the fine was imposed because GTBank’s anti-money laundering systems and controls failed.
Reuters reported, citing the statement, that the bank’s internal and external sources highlighted the failures.
In addition, GT Bank had ignored warnings and failed to fix the system, according to the FCA.
The Financial Conduct Authority stated, “These weaknesses were repeatedly highlighted to GT Bank by internal and external sources, including the FCA, but despite this, GT Bank failed to take appropriate action to fix them.”
The FCA says that the Guaranty Trust Bank has agreed to settle and not disputed the findings.
“Guaranty Trust Bank UK Limited has reached settlement with the FCA, accepting findings in relation to historical Anti-Money Laundering controls in its operations in the period October 2014 to July 2019,” the bank stated in a statement sent to PUNCH when contacted.
In addition, the bank stated that it had “agreed a penalty sum of GBP7,671,800, which has been calculated by reference to a proportion of the revenues of GTBank UK over the relevant period and includes a 30% discount for early settlement.” It also stated that it had “fully cooperated with the FCA investigation.”
