FSA Fines Turkish Bank (UK) for Money Laundering Breaches

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined Turkish Bank (UK) Ltd (TBUK) £294,000 for breaching the Money Laundering Money Laundering Money laundering is a blanket term to describe the process by which criminals disguise the original ownership and proceeds of criminal conduct by making such proceeds appear to be derived from a legitimate source.Money laundering is an issue that traverses countless industries and sectors, which includes the financial services space. Though criminal money may be successfully laundered without the assistance of the financial sector, billions of dollars’ worth of criminally derived money are laund Money laundering is a blanket term to describe the process by which criminals disguise the original ownership and proceeds of criminal conduct by making such proceeds appear to be derived from a legitimate source.Money laundering is an issue that traverses countless industries and sectors, which includes the financial services space. Though criminal money may be successfully laundered without the assistance of the financial sector, billions of dollars’ worth of criminally derived money are laund Read this Term Regulations 2007 (MLR). These breaches – which related to TBUK’s correspondent banking arrangements - were widespread and lasted over two and a half years.They led to an unacceptable risk that TBUK could have been used to launder money. This is the first occasion in which the FSA has taken enforcement action against a firm in relation to money laundering weaknesses in its correspondent banking arrangements.

TBUK is a wholly owned subsidiary of Turkish Bank Limited which is incorporated in Northern Cyprus. TBUK’s customer base is mainly retail. TBUK offers a range of financial services, including correspondent banking. Correspondent banking involves a bank (correspondent) providing banking services to an overseas bank (respondent) to enable the respondent to provide its own customers with cross-border products and services, such as payment and clearing, that it cannot provide them with itself. TBUK acted as a correspondent bank for nine respondent banks in Turkey and six respondent banks in Northern Cyprus between 15 December 2007 and 3 July 2010.

Under the MLR, providing correspondent banking services to banks based in non-EEA states is recognised as creating a high risk of money laundering that requires enhanced due diligence and ongoing monitoring of the relationship. During this period, Turkey and Northern Cyprus did not have Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Anti-money laundering (AML) is a term that describes laws, processes, and regulations that are intended to prevent illegally obtained funds from being disguised as income gained through legitimate means. The fundamental purpose of the AML laws is to help safeguard, detect, and report suspicious activity including the predicate offenses to money laundering and terrorist financing, such as securities fraud and market manipulation.Most exchanges have AML measures that include identity verification Anti-money laundering (AML) is a term that describes laws, processes, and regulations that are intended to prevent illegally obtained funds from being disguised as income gained through legitimate means. The fundamental purpose of the AML laws is to help safeguard, detect, and report suspicious activity including the predicate offenses to money laundering and terrorist financing, such as securities fraud and market manipulation.Most exchanges have AML measures that include identity verification Read this Term) requirements that were equivalent to those in the UK.

The FSA visited TBUK in July 2010 as part of a thematic review of how banks operating in the UK were managing money laundering risks. The visit gave serious cause for concern in relation to TBUK’s AML controls over correspondent banking.

TBUK’s breaches of the MLR included failing to:

• establish and maintain appropriate and risk-sensitive AML policies and procedures for its correspondent banking relationships;

• carry out adequate due diligence on, and ongoing monitoring of, the respondent banks it dealt with and failing to reconsider these relationships when this was not possible; and

• maintain adequate records relating to the above.

Whilst not deliberate or reckless, these failings were more serious because the FSA had previously warned TBUK of deficiencies in its approach to AML controls over correspondent banking.

Tracey McDermott, acting director of the Enforcement and Financial Crime Division, said:

“Turkish Bank fell far short of the standards we expect of firms in managing their money laundering risks. This was despite clear warnings from the FSA that it needed to improve.

“Banks must have appropriate policies and procedures in place to manage these risks. Turkish Bank’s correspondent banking business made it particularly vulnerable to money laundering risks and its failings exposed UK financial services to the possibility that money could be laundered through the UK. We will continue to demand the highest standards from banks and to take tough action for those banks that fail to meet them.”

TBUK agreed to settle with the FSA at an early stage of the investigation. Without this early settlement and the firm’s co-operation, the fine would have been £420,000.