Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- A high-powered central bank team is set to visit United Kingdom (UK) next month to inspect the overall activities of Sonali Bank (UK) Limited that has been fined by the UK authority.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined the bank ₤3.25 million and banned from accepting deposits from new customers for 168 days due to failure in putting anti-money laundering controls in place.
It also fined the bank’s former money laundering reporting officer (MLRO), Steven Smith, ₤17,900 and prohibited him from performing the MLRO or compliance oversight functions at regulated firms.
“The central bank of Bangladesh is not been informed about the fined as of today (Thursday),” Shubhankar Saha, spokesperson of the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, told BBN in Dhaka without elaborating.
However, a BB senior official said a three-member team would visit UK to inspect the overall functions of the Sonali Bank (UK) Limited.
The visit would take place during November 28 to December 12, according to the official.
He also said the team would meet officials of the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
Fifty one per cent of the bank’s share capital is held by Bangladesh government and the rest 49 per cent by Sonali Bank Limited.
On the other hand, the Sonali Bank board was trying to know about the happenings in the UK and how things happened, a senior executive of the state-owned commercial bank told BBN in Dhaka.
He also said the board would discuss the issue of Sonali Bank UK Limited in its next meeting.
Sonali Bank (UK) Limited was established in the UK in December 2001 in order to provide faster and efficient services to members of Bangladeshi community.
“We are the only UK based Bangladeshi Bank and have been authorised by the PRA and regulated by the FCA and the PRA,” the Sonali Bank (UK) said in its website.
“There is an abundance of guidance for firms on how to comply with AML and financial crime requirements and no excuse for failing to follow it,” Mark Steward, Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA, said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Sonali Bank currently has three UK branches—London, Birmingham and Bradford—set up to serve the expatriate Bangladeshi community.
Despite having previously received clear warnings about serious weaknesses in its AML controls, the bank “failed to maintain” adequate AML systems between 20 August 2010 and 21 July 2014, according to reports.
BBN/SSR/AD