The FCA said in a statement on Tuesday that the bank’s anti-money laundering systems and controls failed.
According to Reuters, the failures were highlighted by the bank’s internal and external sources, and GTBank failed to take appropriate measures to fix the system despite warnings.
“These weaknesses were repeatedly highlighted to GTBank by internal and external sources, including the FCA, but despite this, GTBank failed to take appropriate action to fix them,” the FCA said.
The FCA stated that the bank did not dispute its findings and had agreed to settle.
In a statement, the bank also confirmed that it had reached a settlement with the FCA and accepted the findings related to anti-money laundering (AML) controls in its operations between October 2014 and July 2019.
Mr. Gbenga Alade, the bank’s Managing Director, said in a statement on Tuesday that the bank had fully cooperated with the FCA investigation and had agreed to a penalty of £7,671,800.
He stated that the amount was calculated using a percentage of GTBank UK’s revenues over the relevant period and included a 30% discount for early settlement.
The statement reads in part, “As a responsible financial services institution that is committed to best practices, GTBank UK takes its AML obligations extremely seriously.
“We note with sincere regret the FCA’s findings regarding AML control gaps in our operations in the past and we are very sorry for this.
“We would like to assure all our stakeholders and the general public that necessary steps have been taken to address and resolve the identified gaps.
“Whilst there was no direct customer impairment arising from the period under review (and the FCA’s findings do not include any instances of suspected money laundering.)
“We have since reinforced our AML control framework and implemented changes in our AML processes in line with best practice with a view to ensuring that the highest standards are maintained in our operations.”
