Barclays Chose Web Search Over Risk Check on `Elephant' Deal
- Bankers stored data on clients in safe few staff were aware of
- Bank fined by U.K. regulator over $2.9 billion 2011-12 deal
Barclays headquarters stand in London.
Photographer: Simon Dawson/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Barclays Plc bankers who manage money for the ultra-rich were supposed to have been even more vigilant than usual as they considered a multi-billion-dollar deal for people with high-profile political ties in 2011.
Instead, officials at the London-based lender “relied on printouts from publicly available Internet pages” while failing to seek out the source of the clients’ wealth, as required under anti-money laundering rules, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority said as it fined Barclays a record 72.1 million pounds ($109 million). The FCA didn’t disclose the names of the individuals involved.