NatWest fined 264.8 million pounds in money-laundering case

By DANICA KIRKA
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — British bank NatWest has been fined 264.8 million pounds ($354.30 million) for failing to comply with money laundering rules. The fine was handed down at Southwark Crown Court in London on Monday. NatWest, the partially state-owned bank formerly known as Royal Bank of Scotland, had pleaded guilty in October to charges related to deposits made by a jewelry business between 2012 and 2016. The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority said in a statement that some NatWest workers had reported suspicions about the company’s cash transactions, but the bank failed to take appropriate action and “created an open door for money laundering.” The case marked the first time U.K. financial regulators pursued criminal charges for such violations.