Barclays fined for inadequate scrutiny in £1.9b deal

London

BARCLAYS plc was fined £72.1 million (S$153 million) by UK regulators for failing to fully probe a group of "politically exposed" ultra high net worth clients tied to a transaction of £1.9 billion.

The lender executed the so-called elephant deal in 2011 and 2012 for a number of clients, the Financial Conduct Authority said on Thursday. While the individuals should have been "subject to enhanced levels of due diligence and monitoring", Barclays didn't follow standard procedures, "preferring instead to take on the clients as quickly as possible" and generating £52.3 million in revenue, the FCA said, without disclosing the customers' identity.