Natwest pleads guilty to money laundering offences

Bank ‘failed to adequately monitor and therefore prevent money laundering’, says chief executive

Suspect activity by a client took place between 2012 and 2016 (PA)

NatWest has pleaded guilty to three counts of failing to comply with anti-money laundering legislation. 

At a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, the state-backed bank’s chief executive, Alison Rose, said NatWest had “failed to adequately monitor and therefore prevent money laundering by one of our customers between 2012 and 2016”.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) alleged the bank failed to monitor suspect activity by a client who deposited £365m over the five-year period, including £264m in cash.

The banking regulator previously said that “increasingly large cash deposits” were made into the sole customer’s account.

It marks the first time the FCA has launched a criminal prosecution under regulation 45(1) of the Money Laundering Regulations 2007, and the first time the rules have been used to prosecute a bank.

The suspect activity related to a jeweller based in Bradford, which was shut down following a police raid in 2016. NatWest now faces a fine of up to £240m.

Ms Rose said: “NatWest has a vital part to play in detecting and preventing financial crime and we take extremely seriously our responsibility to prevent money laundering by third parties.

“In the years since this case, we have invested significant resources and continue to enhance our efforts to effectively combat financial crime.

“We work tirelessly with colleagues, other banks, industry bodies, law enforcement, regulators and governments to help find collaborative solutions to this shared challenge.

“These partnerships are crucial to counter the significant and evolving threat of financial crime to society.”

The government said in July that it intended to sell part of its shareholding in NatWest. At the time of the announcement, UK Government Investments owned 54.7 per cent of the banking group.