Sonali Bank pays £3.25m and deposits block for extensive AML failings; ex-MLRO ban & fine

Sonali Bank (UK) Ltd (SBUK), UK subsidiary of the Bangladesh state-owned group, must pay a £3.25m penalty and will not be able to accept new customer deposits for 168 days after the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found “serious and systemic” weaknesses at “almost all levels of its business and governance structure”. SBUK’s former MLRO, Steven Smith, has been fined £17,900 and banned from performing compliance and AML senior management and controlled functions.