ANALYSIS: Starling Bank an appalling AML vista – how could an active board preside over such reckless AFC policies?

Regulatory Watch News

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  Previously Extradited Foreign National Sentenced for Role in Multimillion-Dollar Business Email Compromise Schemes Targeting Educational Institutions and Businesses in Texas and North Carolina

  US Department of Justice

  October 2, 2024

  A dual citizen of Nigeria and the United Kingdom was sentenced yesterday to seven years in prison for his role in a multimillion-dollar business email compromise (BEC) scheme.

  According to court documents, Oludayo Kolawole John Adeagbo, 45, conspired with others to participate in multiple cyber-enabled BEC schemes in an attempt to steal more than $3 million from victim entities in Texas, including local government entities, construction companies, and a Houston-area college. Adeagbo and conspirators also defrauded a North Carolina university of more than $1.9 million.

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  Treasury Sanctions Houthi Weapons Smuggling and Procurement Networks

  OFAC

  October 2, 2024

  WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is designating one individual and three companies that have facilitated weapons procurement and smuggling operations for Ansarallah, commonly known as the Houthis. This action targets key procurement operatives and suppliers located in Iran and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) that have enabled the Houthis to acquire dual-use materials and components needed to manufacture, maintain, and deploy an arsenal of advanced missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) against U.S. and allied interests.

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  FCA fines Starling Bank £29m for failings in their financial crime systems and controls

  Financial Conduct Authority

  October 2, 2024

  The FCA has fined Starling Bank Limited £28,959,426 for financial crime failings related to its financial sanctions screening. It also repeatedly breached a requirement not to open accounts for high-risk customers.

  Starling grew quickly, from approximately 43,000 customers in 2017 to 3.6 million in 2023. However, measures to tackle financial crime did not keep pace with its growth. When the FCA reviewed financial crime controls at challenger banks in 2021, it identified serious concerns with the anti-money laundering and sanctions framework in place at Starling. The bank agreed to a requirement restricting it from opening new accounts for high-risk customers until this improved. Starling failed to comply and opened over 54,000 accounts for 49,000 high-risk customers between September 2021 and November 2023.