Five years to prosecute NatWest and why no individuals prosecuted?
21/10/2021
British lawmakers have asked the Financial Conduct Authority why it took five years to prosecute NatWest (NWG.L) for failing to prevent the laundering of nearly 400 million pounds ($551.28 million), after the lender pled guilty earlier this month.
The bank on Oct. 7 admitted three criminal charges of not adequately monitoring customer accounts between 2012 and 2016, the first time a bank in Britain acknowledged it committed a criminal offence of this kind.
Mel Stride, chair of the cross-party Treasury Select Committee, said in a letter to the FCA published on Wednesday.
- "There are questions which remain to be answered, most notably why it has taken five years after the police raid in 2016 to bring this case to a successful conclusion,"
Stride said the committee is also looking into why no individual NatWest staff were prosecuted.
A spokesperson for the FCA said:
- "We’ve received the letter and will be responding shortly,"
The FCA in the case alleged NatWest had failed to monitor suspect activity by a client that deposited about 365 million pounds in its accounts over five years, of which 264 million was in cash.
NatWest could face a potential penalty of around 340 million pounds under sentencing guidelines, although a judge will set the level of any fine later this year.
The bank reports its third-quarter earnings, in which it could take a provision against the expected fine, on Oct. 29.
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As well as owning and publishing Comsure's copyrighted works, Comsure wishes to use the copyright-protected works of others. To do so, Comsure is applying for exemptions in the UK copyright law. There are certain very specific situations where Comsure is permitted to do so without seeking permission from the owner. These exemptions are in the copyright sections of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended)[www.gov.UK/government/publications/copyright-acts-and-related-laws]. Many situations allow for Comsure to apply for exemptions. These include 1] Non-commercial research and private study, 2] Criticism, review and reporting of current events, 3] the copying of works in any medium as long as the use is to illustrate a point. 4] no posting is for commercial purposes [payment]. (for a full list of exemptions, please read here www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright]. Concerning the exceptions, Comsure will acknowledge the work of the source author by providing a link to the source material. Comsure claims no ownership of non-Comsure content. The non-Comsure articles posted on the Comsure website are deemed important, relevant, and newsworthy to a Comsure audience (e.g. regulated financial services and professional firms [DNFSBs]). Comsure does not wish to take any credit for the publication, and the publication can be read in full in its original form if you click the articles link that always accompanies the news item. Also, Comsure does not seek any payment for highlighting these important articles. If you want any article removed, Comsure will automatically do so on a reasonable request if you email info@comsuregroup.com.