Yorkshire gold dealer linked to first money laundering prosecution
A Bradford business is at the centre of money laundering investigations led by the Financial Conduct Authority against NatWest Group.
The bank faces money laundering charges for failing to properly monitor the company accounts of gold and precious metal dealer Fowler Oldfield, that received cash deposits totalling £264m.
The FCA claims that in the five years between November 2011 and October 2016, NatWest failed to conduct proper due diligence and ongoing monitoring. This marks the first criminal prosecution under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 (MLR 2007).
In a statement the FCA said: “that increasingly large cash deposits were made into the customer’s accounts. It is alleged that around £365 million was paid into the customer’s accounts, of which around £264 million was in cash.”
This is the latest action brought about following a raid on Fowler Oldfield in September 2016 by West Yorkshire police, with a number people being prosecuted for related offences.
Following the police investigation, the gold dealer went into liquidation with KPMG appointed as liquidators.
NatWest stated its responsibility to seek to prevent money laundering “extremely seriously” and “has been cooperating with the FCA’s investigation”.
Although the FCA has said no individuals were being charged in the case, the bank, which is still part owned by the government, will appear in a London court on April 14.
