GTBank UK regrets money laundering action, accepts FCA £7,671,800 fine

Guaranty Trust Bank UK Limited (GTBank UK) has accepted findings of the Financial Conduct Authority investigation which indicted the bank in relation to historical Anti-Money Laundering (AML) controls in its operations in the period October 2014 to July 2019.

The bank has therefore reached a settlement with the FCA on the penalty sum of £7,671,800 imposed for the action.

The FCA’s investigation focused on GTBank UK’s AML controls and steps taken by GTBank UK to remediate these to ensure they operated in line with the relevant requirements.

The findings are final, and no further action is anticipated in respect of this matter.

The FCA acknowledged in its findings that GTBank UK had spent considerable time and resources in order to bring its AML standards up to the required level.

Managing Director of GTBank UK, Gbenga Alade, said, “As a responsible financial services institution that is 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 further said, “We would like to assure all our stakeholders and the general public that necessary steps have been taken to address and resolve the identified gaps.

“Whilst there was no direct customer impairment arising from the period under review [and the FCA’s findings do not include any instances of suspected money laundering], we have since reinforced our AML control framework and implemented changes in our AML processes in line with the best practice with a view to ensuring that the highest standards are maintained in our operations.”