Santander fined £107.8 million by watchdog for 'serious' gaps in money laundering failings

A Santander branch in the UK.
Santander had 'failed to properly oversee and manage' its anti-money laundering systems, the watchdog found. Credit: PA

Santander UK has been fined £107.8 million over "serious and persistent gaps" in its anti-money laundering controls, the financial watchdog has announced.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said business banking customers were affected by anti-money laundering failures.

It said the bank "failed to properly oversee and manage" these systems, which impacted its oversight of more than 560,000 business customers.

Santander had "ineffective" systems to adequately verify the information provided by customers about the business they were doing, the FCA said.

Where is Santander reducing Saturday opening times?

The failures led to more than £298 million passing through the bank before it closed accounts.

Mark Steward, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: "Santander’s poor management of their anti-money laundering systems and their inadequate attempts to address the problems created a prolonged and severe risk of money laundering and financial crime.

"As part of our commitment to prevent and reduce financial crime, we continue to take action against firms which fail to operate proper anti-money laundering controls."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...