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The financial watchdog has fined banking giant Barclays £42m over its “poor handling” of financial crime risks.

The Financial Conduct Authority said the fines were related to separate failings linked to the WealthTek and Stunt & Co businesses.

It fined Barclays Bank £39.3m for “failing to adequately manage money laundering risks” related to providing banking services to Stunt & Co, the firm run by socialite James Stunt.

The Guardian has the details…

In just over a year, Stunt & Co received £46.8m from Fowler Oldfield, a multimillion-pound money laundering operation, the FCA said.

Barclays failed to properly consider the money laundering risks associated with the firm even after receiving information from law enforcement about suspected money laundering through Fowler Oldfield, and after learning that the police had raided both firms.

Barclays only conducted a review of its exposure to Fowler Oldfield through its customers, including Stunt & Co, after it learned of the FCA’s decision to prosecute NatWest over their relationship with Fowler Oldfield. By providing ongoing banking services to Stunt & Co, Barclays facilitated the movement of funds linked to financial crime.

Barclays received a £3.1m fine for failing to check that it had gathered enough information to understand the money laundering risk, before it opened a client money account for the now-collapsed wealth management firm WealthTek, the FCA said.

Without the right information about WealthTek and how the account would be used, there was an increased risk of misappropriation of client money or money laundering. Clients went on to deposit £34m into the account. Barclays has agreed to make a voluntary payment of £6.3m to WealthTek’s clients who have a shortfall in the money they have been able to reclaim, according to the financial watchdog.

Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: