NatWest pleads guilty to money laundering offenses

LONDON, Oct. 7 (Reuters) – State-backed NatWest (NWG.L) has pleaded guilty to failing to prevent the alleged money laundering of nearly £ 400m ($ 543.80m) , the first UK lender to admit guilt for such breaches.

NatWest pleaded Thursday at a hearing in Westminster Magistrates’ Court. An FCA lawyer told the court that “the likely sentence is a very large fine.”

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) prosecutors alleged the bank failed to monitor suspicious activity of a customer who deposited around £ 365million into his accounts over five years, including £ 264million in cash.

The criminal action, first announced by the FCA in March, was the first against a bank under a 2007 money laundering law.

“We deeply regret that NatWest did not adequately monitor and therefore prevent money laundering by one of our clients between 2012 and 2016,” NatWest CEO Alison Rose said in a statement.

The customer at the center of the case is Fowler Oldfield, a Bradford-based gold dealer, reported Reuters and other media, which were closed following a police raid in 2016.

The charges relate to a separate case against 13 people based in cities across the country, Reuters reported. Read more

NatWest remains 55% taxpayer-owned after receiving a bailout package worth more than £ 45 billion ($ 61 billion and over) at the height of the 2008 financial crisis.

($ 1 = 0.7356 pounds)

Reporting by Iain Withers and Kirstin Ridley, editing by Rachel Armstrong

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