The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority fined Barclays £72 million on Thursday for trashing its own rules on making background checks on clients and the origin of their cash, and whether they figured on international sanctions lists.
Barclays said there was no evidence a crime had been committed, and that it "continues to apply significant resources and training to ensure compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements."
But regulators said the lengths a handful of Barclays employees went to hide the £1.9 billion transaction , including from the bank's own staff, "threatened confidence in the U.K. financial system."
The bank had failed to perform proper due diligence that should have thrown up a number of red flags, the FCA said, adding it had tripled the size of the fine to act as a deterrent to others.
