LONDON (Reuters) – State-backed Natwest has pleaded guilty to money laundering, the first British lender to admit guilt to such offences.
NatWest pleaded at a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
Prosecutors at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) alleged the bank failed to monitor suspect activity by a client that deposited about 365 million pounds ($503 million) in its accounts over five years, of which 264 million was in cash.
The criminal action, first announced by the FCA in March, was the first against a bank under a 2007 money laundering law.
(Reporting by Iain Withers and Kirstin Ridley, Editing by Rachel Armstrong)
