(19 January 2023 – Global) Fines for failing to prevent money laundering and other financial crime surged more than 50 percent last year, raising concerns over the effectiveness of a global crackdown and investor tolerance.
Banks and other financial institutions were fined almost $5bn for “anti-money laundering” infractions, breaching sanctions and failings in their “know your customer” systems in 2022, bringing the total since the global financial crisis to almost $55bn, data from compliance firm Fenergo shows.
Fines typically come several years after infractions, so the latest figures do not capture financial institutions caught offside by the glut of sanctions introduced in the wake of Russia’s assault on Ukraine last year.
BNP Paribas, UBS, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, HSBC and Standard Chartered top the league table for AML and related fines in the post-crisis era.
The US has been the most aggressive imposer of penalties, chalking up $37bn of the fines, followed by roughly $11bn in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and just over $5.1bn in Asia-Pacific, according to the Fenergo data.