The failings at Habib lasted almost three years and exposed the firm to an unacceptable risk of laundering money, FSA said in a statement.
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FSA said that in its investigation it found that during the period 15 December 2007 to 15 November 2010, Habib failed to establish and maintain adequate controls for assessing the level of money laundering risk posed by its customers.
In particular, the bank maintained a high risk country list which excluded certain high risk countries on the basis that it had group offices in them, FSA alleged.
Commenting on Hussain’s role, the regulatory body said that as MLRO he was responsible for oversight of the bank’s AML systems and controls, but failed to ensure that these systems and controls were adequate.
Tracey McDermott, acting director of enforcement and financial crime, said: "Habib’s failings were unacceptable. Habib’s belief that local knowledge of a country through a group office mitigated the higher money laundering risk posed by that country was entirely misconceived."
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By GlobalDataHabib is a privately owned Swiss bank with 12 branches in the UK and approximately 15,500 customers. Approximately 45% of its customers were based outside the UK and about half of its deposits came from jurisdictions which, according to independent international organizations, had less stringent AML requirements or were perceived to have higher levels of corruption than the UK.
