GT Bank In Multi Million Dollars Money Laundering Scandal!

….AS MD Gbenga Alade runs helter skelter to save face

ALIMOTU SHADIAT

s the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is doing everything on its capacity to rebrand the image of Nigeria in global perspective, some disgruntled individuals and corporate organizations are out there in the diaspora frustrating the efforts of the outgoing government.

This confirmation is not farfetched as past and recent detriment activities of these unpatriotic sources have so far revealed. Unscrupulous elements of Nigerian descents have been embroiled in several nefarious activities, attracting various forms of embarrassment on the country.

Sadly, one could not fathom the fact that supposedly reputable financial institution in the calibre of GT Bank could be involved in wanton destructive act of money laundering amounting to millions of dollars.

Information reaching High Celebrity Squard Magazine reveal that accusing fingers are currently pointed at Nigeria’s foremost financial giant, GT Bank by reputable investment investigative outfit

Financial Watchdog.

It was reported that this will not be the first time GT Bank has been involved in this criminal act, having being tagged ‘a repeat offender’. It is also alleged that the bank’s management has not disputed the findings and agreed to ‘settle’.

The investigators submitted that Guaranty Trust Bank did not dispute UK findings that it had again failed to put in place proper anti-money-laundering systems and controls and was fined.

Britain’s financial watchdog has fined the UK subsidiary of Nigeria’s Guaranty Trust Bank 7.6 million pounds ($9.3m) for what it says are further failures in its anti-money-laundering systems and controls.

“These weaknesses were repeatedly highlighted to GT Bank by internal and external sources, including the FCA, but despite this, GT Bank failed to take appropriate action to fix them,” the Financial Conduct Authority said in a statement on Tuesday.

The watchdog said GT Bank has not disputed the findings and agreed to settle, making it eligible for a 30 percent discount on the fine, down from the original 10.96 million pounds ($13.3m).

GT Bank’s conduct is particularly egregious as this is not the first time that the bank has faced enforcement action in relation to its AML controls,” the statement said.

Feeling the heat of his bank’s involvement in this outrageous financial scandal, Gbenga Alade managing director of GT Bank UK, defended saying the bank takes its anti-money laundering obligations extremely seriously and noted the FCA’s findings with sincere regret, adding that the FCA found no instances of suspected money laundering.

“We would like to assure all our stakeholders and the general public that necessary steps have been taken to address and resolve the identified gaps,” Alade said in a statement.

In August 2013, the FCA fined it 525,000 pounds ($627,323) for running afoul of the regulations Banks are at the front line in ensuring the proceeds of crime do not enter the UK financial system,” Tracey McDermott, the FCA’s director of enforcement, said at the time. “GT Bank’s failures were serious and systemic and resulted in an unacceptable risk of handling the proceeds of crime.”

The bank said then that it had complied with the fine and addressed the issues.

As at the time of flying this report, the bank’s headquarters in Nigeria is keeping mum on the sad and derogatory development and IR was yet to be certified if the lapses in the money laundering system led to practical infractions. We are still digging more latest development even as we promise our esteemed readers more amazing and flabbergasting revelations about one of Nigeria’s so-called most transparent banks. Watch out!

Curled from Aljazeera