Money laundering is a serious crime that can result in a long prison term.
The total amount of cash laundered in the UK each year runs into the tens of billions – with the problem itself costing the country billions.
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Money laundering can result in a long prison termCredit: Alamy
What is money laundering?
Money laundering is the process by which criminals hide the proceeds of crime by disguising them as legitimate income from another business.
Cash can be laundered on a small scale with just one company or on a large scale through financial institutions.
Money laundering is illegal because the police want crime to be unprofitable.
Hundreds of billions of pounds are believed to be knowingly and unknowingly being laundered through banks.
What is the penalty for doing this in the UK?
Money laundering under the Investigation Act can result in a prison sentence of up to 14 years or a heavy fine.
The penalty depends on the amount of money – the severity of the crime increases with the amount of cash laundered.
Laundering drug funds usually results in a higher penalty.
The money itself is also subject to a confiscation decision.
Why did NatWest plead guilty of negligence in laundering money?
On Thursday October 7, 2021, NatWest pleaded guilty to failing to prevent the laundry of nearly £ 400 million.
The company faces a heavy fine after becoming the first bank in the UK to admit such a crime.
NatWest is guilty of three criminal charges for not having adequately monitored customer accounts between 2012 and 2016.
The FCA alleged that NatWest failed to monitor suspicious activity by a customer who had deposited around £ 365 million in their accounts over five years, including £ 264 million in cash.
However, no action will be taken against current or former employees.
“We deeply regret that NatWest has failed to adequately monitor and therefore prevent money laundering by one of our customers,” said NatWest CEO Alison Rose in a statement.
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