Ghana International Bank has been fined a whopping £5.8 million for breaching anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing controls in the United Kingdom (UK).
According to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Ghana International Bank (GIB), failed to establish appropriate risk-sensitive policies and procedures between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2016.
It also cited failure to conduct adequate enhanced due diligence when establishing new business relationships and conduct adequate enhanced ongoing monitoring on transactions.
The Authority among other reasons in a 69-page report said the breaches concerned GIB’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing controls over its correspondent banking activities within the period.
“During the Relevant Period, the monetary value of funds flowing between GIB and its respondent banking customers, net of transfers between customers’ own accounts and fixed deposits, totalled £9.5 billion,” it emphasized.
According to the UK regulatory anti-money laundering authority, Ghana would have paid more but for a decision to slash to amount at a discount of 30% upon Ghana’s readiness to resolve the matter.
“Were it not for this discount, the Authority would have imposed a financial penalty of £8,328,500 on GIB,” the notice said.