Santander UK fined $132M for poor AML controls

Santander

The U.K. arm of Santander was fined approximately 107.8 million pounds (U.S. $132 million) by the country’s financial services regulator for “serious and persistent” gaps in its anti-money laundering (AML) controls.

Between December 2012 and October 2017, the accounts of more than 560,000 business customers were not checked properly due to repeated failings in Santander UK’s AML systems, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said in a press release Friday.

Across six cases examined by the regulator, approximately £298 million (U.S. $366 million) of suspect funds were transferred in and out of business accounts before they were closed without triggering any warnings or requiring enhanced checks.

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