Retail banking firm Natwest has plead guilty to failing to prevent the laundering of almost £400.0m, the first UK bank to cop to such a charge under a 2007 money laundering law.
Natwest indicated guilty pleas to three charges of inadequately monitoring customer accounts between 2012 and 2016 at the Crown Court in London on Thursday.
The bank said it would take a provision in its third-quarter results in anticipation of what industry watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority said would likely be “a very large fine”.
Chief executive Alison Rose said: “We deeply regret that NatWest failed to adequately monitor and therefore prevent money laundering by one of our customers between 2012 and 2016.
“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.”
