- Chief Compliance Officer and VP of Legal Affairs, Arrow Electronics
By 
Aaron Nicodemus2024-07-18T20:39:00
The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) asked banks and financial institutions “to do more” to ensure that U.K lawmakers and their families are not treated unfairly.
On Thursday, the FCA released a review of findings on how effectively firms are following its guidance on the treatment of politically exposed persons (PEPs) for anti-money laundering (AML) purposes. The FCA’s definition of PEPs are lawmakers, close family members, and close associates whose position puts them at higher risk of using financial tools to facilitate money laundering.
The FCA first announced that it would review financial institutions’ treatment of PEPs in September in response to the Nigel Farage “debanking” scandal, in which NatWest subsidiary Coutts closed the U.K. politician’s investment accounts potentially over his right-wing political views.
THIS IS MEMBERS-ONLY CONTENT. To continue reading, choose one of the options below.
News and analysis for the well-informed compliance or audit exec. Select an option and click continue.
Annual Membership $499 Value offer
Full price one year membership with auto-renewal.
Membership $599
One-year only, no auto-renewal.
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority apologized to investors in peer-to-peer investment firm Collateral for not acting swiftly enough to prevent Collateral from defrauding its customers.
The U.K. has an ongoing problem with money laundering, but recent changes to economic crime law and corporate registration requirements could bring more cases to court, according to consultancy KPMG.
The U.K Financial Conduct Authority published findings showing that financial services firms are implementing its guidance on politically exposed persons related to anti-money laundering inconsistently, with experts warning firms of reputational damage arising from potential enforcement.
London has long had the dubious reputation of being the world’s money laundering capital and it looks like it’s a title it is likely to retain for some time yet.
The U.K. will struggle to shed its reputation as one of the world’s biggest conduits for dirty money due to a combination of patchy intelligence-sharing and poorly resourced enforcement agencies, experts told Compliance Week.
Enforcement actions in the first half of of 2024 by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network highlight the importance of proactive measures in Bank Secrecy Act compliance rather than just being compliant.
