MAY 20, 2016
Barclays is investigating claims made by its former chief risk officer in France that managers ignored potential anti-money laundering failures at some of its French branches, a person familiar with the case has told Business Insider. Philippe Hebert sent a letter to his boss, Barclays France CEO Tony Blanco, last month informing him that large cash withdrawals weren’t flagged and that “lines of defence” against money laundering were failing to catch potential problems.
Hebert revealed that one client made 38 withdrawals at just below the €10,000 ($11,200 or £7,700) limit in the bank’s Biarritz branch, and said that “negligence or complicity” from management allowed breaches to go unpunished. Banks are required to investigate withdrawals of €10,000 or more. The timing is poor for the bank. Barclays is in talks to sell its French retail banking and wealth business to Anacap, a private equity firm. The network has 74 branches across France, offering current accounts, mortgages and wealth management products.
Fines against Barclays anti-money laundering failures are starting to rack up. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority hit Barclays with a £72 million ($104 million) fine in November, the largest ever for financial crime failings, for arranging and executing transactions in 2011 and 2012 for a number of ultra-high net worth clients who were “politically exposed persons.”