October 12 2016
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Sonali Bank (UK) Limited (SBUK) £3,250,600 and has imposed a restriction, preventing it from accepting deposits from new customers for 168 days. It has also fined the bank’s former money laundering reporting officer (MLRO), Steven Smith, £17,900 and prohibited him from performing the MLRO or compliance oversight functions at regulated firms.
The FCA found serious and systemic weaknesses affected almost all levels of its AML control and governance structure, including its senior management team, its money laundering reporting function, the oversight of its branches and its AML policies and procedures. This meant that the firm failed to comply with its operational obligations in respect of customer due diligence, the identification and treatment of politically exposed persons, transaction and customer monitoring and making suspicious activity reports.