The Financial Conduct Authority has fined Barclays Bank UK plc £3,093,600 for failing to gather enough information to understand the money-laundering risk before opening a client money account for wealth management firm WealthTek, in a Final Notice dated 14 July 2025 and published on 16 July 2025. The fine is separate from a concurrent £39,314,700 penalty imposed on Barclays Bank plc, a legally distinct entity within the broader Barclays group, for anti-money laundering failures related to the Stunt & Co corporate relationship.
Barclays Bank UK plc is the domestic retail and business banking entity within the group, serving personal customers, small businesses, and selected other clients through the United Kingdom branch network.
ONBOARDING AND KYC WEAKNESSES
The FCA identified weak onboarding and know-your-customer processes as the primary cause of the control failures at Barclays Bank UK plc.
The failure mattered because WealthTek did not have permission to hold client money, which Barclays would have seen had it checked the FCA register; WealthTek's former head partner John Dance was later charged with fraud and laundering over £64 million from client accounts. Barclays agreed to make a voluntary ex-gratia payment of £6,281,757 to be distributed to WealthTek's clients.
The Final Notice records that Barclays UK had itself identified shortcomings in 2020, introduced new client account opening procedures from September 2021 and required checks of the Financial Services Register from May 2022.
SEPARATE BARCLAYS BANK PLC FINE
The Barclays Bank UK plc fine was published on the same day as the £39,314,700 penalty against Barclays Bank plc.
The combined total of the two fines is approximately £42.4 million.