Sonali Bank pays £3.25m and has deposits blocked for AML failings; ex-MLRO banned & fined

Timon Molloy, managing editor

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 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.