Who was sanctioned, and for what?

The operator of quinnbet.com will pay £415,986 in lieu of a financial penalty to the Consolidated Fund (the UK Government's general account) under a settlement and contribute to the Commission's investigation costs. The settlement also includes a disgorgement of £193,118, which is not included in the amount shown. A compliance assessment found breaches of the anti-money laundering licence condition LC 12.1.1 paras. 2 and 3 (March 2023 to August 2025) and of the customer interaction requirements under SRCP 3.4.3; following an error during a platform migration, some of the required financial vulnerability checks under SRCP 3.4.4 were also not carried out between February and May 2025. It is the first enforcement action against the company.

Authority / court

Gambling Commission

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

s. 116 Gambling Act 2005; LC 12.1.1 Abs. 2 und 3, SRCP 3.4.3 und SRCP 3.4.4 Abs. 1 der Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Other

Repeat case

no

Mitigating circumstances

No previous enforcement action, a swift action plan, full cooperation, early voluntary reporting of some of the failings, voluntary divestment of the funds gained from them and early acceptance of the failings.

Published

20 Aug 2026

Original amount 415,986 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 20 Aug 2026.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The games supplier will pay £4,750,000 in lieu of a financial penalty under a regulatory settlement, contribute to the Commission's investigation costs and accept an additional licence condition requiring an independent audit within twelve months. Five genuine Evolution games were accessible at scale to consumers in Great Britain via six websites of two operators not licensed by the Gambling Commission; between April 2024 and January 2025, its risk assessment and its anti-money laundering policies and controls did not adequately address risks arising from business partners in particular (LC 12.1.1, LC 12.1.2). After the Commission notified it in December 2024, Evolution immediately and permanently blocked the games for users in Great Britain.

Authority / court

Gambling Commission

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

s. 116 Gambling Act 2005; LC 12.1.1 Abs. 1–3 und LC 12.1.2 der Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP); Reg. 18, 19(1)(a) und 28(1) Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Other

Mitigating circumstances

A swift action plan with progress updates, full cooperation with the investigation and early acceptance of the failings.

Published

23 Jul 2026

Original amount 4,750,000 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 23 Jul 2026.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a public censure because the London branch opened and operated accounts for the wealth manager WealthTek, although its own register searches showed that it lacked permissions to hold client assets, and overlooked a restriction noted in the register; 16 monitoring alerts were not worked through over two years, and more than £314 million flowed through the accounts. In view of cooperation and a voluntary payment of £31.7 million to WealthTek clients, the FCA refrained from imposing a fine (otherwise £23.1 million after discount).

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Customer due diligence

Legal basis

Section 205 FSMA (Public Censure) wegen Verstoßes gegen FCA Principle 2; Maßstab u. a. SYSC 6.1.1R, 6.3.1R, 6.3.3R und Regulations 18, 27, 28 MLR 2017

Action

Reprimand or warning

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

Cooperation, acknowledgement of the deficiencies and a voluntary payment of £31,714,068 to those harmed

Published

25 Jun 2026

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

The FCA barred the e-money institution Euro Exchange Securities UK Ltd with immediate effect from providing any e-money and payment services, prohibited any dealing with customer funds without its consent and required an independent third party to oversee their return. According to the FCA, the reasons were systemic weaknesses in combating financial crime – in customer risk assessment, customer due diligence and enhanced due diligence, screening, transaction monitoring and governance – together with indications that the obligations to safeguard customer funds were not being met. On the FCA's application the court appointed interim managers on 4 June 2026 and confirmed the special administration on 11 June 2026.

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

reg. 11(1) Electronic Money Regulations 2011 i. V. m. regs. 6(5)(b), 6(5)(c), 6(6)(d), 20 und 37 EMRs; Money Laundering Regulations 2017

Action

Order

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Published

5 Jun 2026

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The FCA barred BeAccount Ltd (trading as Payine), an authorised e-money institution, with immediate effect from all e-money and payment services, including taking on new customers and new customer funds, and required it to return customer funds and to inform customers and the public. After reviewing client files, the FCA had serious concerns that the institution was not complying with the money laundering rules – on risk assessment, internal policies, customer due diligence and enhanced due diligence for politically exposed persons – and was not managing its risks effectively.

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Customer due diligence

Legal basis

reg. 11(1) Electronic Money Regulations 2011; Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (regs. 18, 19, 27, 28 und 35)

Action

Order

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) imposed £44,078,500 (after a 30% discount) because, from October 2016 to July 2021, the building society had no effective systems to keep due diligence and risk assessments for personal customers up to date, and did not identify personal accounts used for business purposes. As a result, one customer received 24 fraudulent Covid furlough payments totalling £27.3 million.

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Customer due diligence

Legal basis

FCA Principle 3; SYSC 6.1.1R und 6.3.1R

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Employees

10,000 or more

Mitigating circumstances

30% settlement discount

Published

12 Dec 2025

Original amount 44,078,500 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 11 Dec 2025.

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

The FCA, through its supervisor OPBAS, publicly censured the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers. The professional body is responsible for anti-money laundering supervision of more than 3,000 bookkeepers in the UK. The FCA found that between January 2022 and July 2023 it did not supervise its members effectively or on a risk basis; among other things it suspended inspections for more than nine months and did not keep adequate records of its supervision.

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing

Legal basis

Regulation 16 Oversight of Professional Body AML and CTF Supervision Regulations 2017; Regulations 17 und 46 MLRs 2017

Action

Reprimand or warning

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Other

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 2 · Direct link

The FCA barred Paywiser Limited, an authorised e-money institution, with immediate effect from providing e-money and payment services to new and existing customers and, by a direction under the money laundering rules, also prohibited it from carrying on cryptoasset business without registration. The FCA had serious concerns about its risk management and internal controls, did not consider its sole shareholder fit and proper, saw indications of unregistered cryptoasset business and criticised a lack of openness with the regulator.

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

reg. 11(1) Electronic Money Regulations 2011; regs. 56(1)(f) und 74C Money Laundering Regulations 2017; Principle 11 der FCA Principles for Businesses

Action

Order

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The Gambling Commission imposed a financial penalty of £10,000,000, a warning and an additional licence condition requiring an external audit on the operator of unibet.co.uk and uk.bingo.com. Between January 2023 and May 2024, its money laundering risk assessment did not take account of accounts previously closed over money laundering or terrorist financing concerns, so blocked customers could open new accounts; the AML policy was unclear about which level of due diligence applied when, and customers showing clear signs of harm were not contacted. It is the second enforcement action against the company, following one in 2023.

Authority / court

Gambling Commission

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

LC 12.1.1 Abs. 1–3 und LC 12.1.2 sowie SRCP 3.4.3 der Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP); s. 117(1)(a) und (b) Gambling Act 2005

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Other

Repeat case

yes

Mitigating circumstances

The company cooperated throughout the investigation.

Published

22 Oct 2025

Original amount 10,000,000 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 22 Sep 2025.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

On 14 July 2025 the FCA fined Barclays Bank Plc £39,314,700 for breaching Principle 2 (due skill, care and diligence). The FCA found that between January 2015 and April 2021 the bank did not properly identify, assess and monitor the money laundering risks posed by one corporate client: apart from March 2019 to May 2020 it treated the client as low risk without knowing enough about its business or where its wealth and funds came from, and it did not reassess that rating when new warning signs emerged. Barclays settled with the FCA and received a 30% discount; without it the fine would have been £56,163,900.

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Customer due diligence

Legal basis

FCA Principle 2; section 206 FSMA 2000

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Original amount 39,314,700 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 14 Jul 2025.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 2 · Direct link

The FCA fined Barclays Bank UK PLC £3,093,600. The FCA found that between January 2021 and April 2023 the bank did not gather sufficient information on the purpose and risks of a client money account it opened for a wealth manager; around £34 million was paid into the account. The FCA saw this as evidence of wider weaknesses in opening such accounts. The bank also agreed a voluntary payment of about £6.3 million for the wealth manager's clients.

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Customer due diligence

Legal basis

FCA Principle 3; SYSC 6.1.1R; section 206 FSMA 2000

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Original amount 3,093,600 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 14 Jul 2025.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 2 · Direct link

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) imposed £21,091,300 (after a 30% discount) because, from 2018 to 2020, Monzo onboarded customers on the basis of sparse and sometimes obviously implausible information – such as well-known London landmarks given as addresses. Despite a requirement not to take on any more high-risk customers, the bank opened more than 34,000 such accounts up to 2022. According to the annual accounts filed with the UK companies register for financial year 2026, the company had around 4,591 employees.

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Customer due diligence

Legal basis

FCA Principle 3 (PRIN 3); s. 55L FSMA (Verstoß gegen Auflage)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Employees

1,000 to 9,999

Mitigating circumstances

30% settlement discount

Published

8 Jul 2025

Original amount 21,091,300 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 7 Jul 2025.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 3 · Direct link

HMRC imposed a penalty of £158,679 under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 on the gallery, which is supervised for anti-money laundering purposes as an art market participant. The failings concerned risk assessment, policies and controls, staff training, due diligence, the timing of verification and record keeping; no appeal was lodged.

Authority / court

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

Reg. 18, 19, 24, 28, 30, 40 und 41 Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Retail and e-commerce

Published

26 Jun 2025

Original amount 158,679 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 26 Jun 2025.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The Gambling Commission imposed a financial penalty of £2,022,000, a warning and an additional licence condition on the betting operator. Between September 2022 and November 2023 the company breached the anti-money laundering licence condition LC 12.1.1, a customer interaction requirement (SRCP 3.4.3 para. 9c) and a specific condition of its licence; it had also not sufficiently considered the AML guidance in OCP 2.1.1. The Commission had already announced a payment by Spreadex in August 2022.

Authority / court

Gambling Commission

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

LC 12.1.1 Abs. 1–3, SRCP 3.4.3 Abs. 9c, besondere Lizenzauflage und OCP 2.1.1 der Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP); s. 117(1)(a) und (b) Gambling Act 2005

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Other

Repeat case

yes

Mitigating circumstances

The company cooperated throughout the investigation.

Published

15 May 2025

Original amount 2,022,000 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 7 May 2025.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The FCA fined Mako Financial Markets Partnership LLP £1,662,700, of which £1,137,283 is disgorgement. The FCA found that between December 2013 and November 2015 Mako executed over-the-counter trades for clients introduced by another broker group, without adequate systems and controls against fraud and money laundering. Customer due diligence and transaction monitoring were, in the FCA's view, inadequate, and red flags in certain equity trades were missed. The fine includes a settlement discount.

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

FCA Principles 2 und 3; section 206 FSMA 2000

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Original amount 1,662,700 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 17 Feb 2025.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 2 · Direct link

The online operator will pay £1,187,500 in lieu of a financial penalty under a settlement and contribute to the Commission's investigation costs. The settlement also includes a divestment of £220,334, which is not included in the amount shown. A compliance assessment found breaches between May 2023 and October 2024 of the anti-money laundering licence condition LC 12.1.1 para. 3 and of requirements on customer interaction, customer identification, information to customers, reporting of key events and display of rules; the self-exclusion requirements were breached from October 2022 to May 2024, so that, for example, one self-excluded customer was able to set up more than 100 accounts. The Commission had already announced a fine against the company in 2022.

Authority / court

Gambling Commission

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

s. 116 Gambling Act 2005; LC 12.1.1 Abs. 3, SRCP 3.4.3, SRCP 3.9.1, LC 4.2.1, LC 15.2.1, SRCP 4.2.6 und SRCP 3.5.3 der Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Other

Repeat case

yes

Mitigating circumstances

An action plan following the December 2023 assessment, full cooperation with regular updates, early acceptance of the failings and a voluntarily agreed external audit on anti-money laundering and safer gambling, including to improve internal training.

Published

4 Mar 2025

Original amount 1,187,500 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 4 Feb 2025.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The operator of admiralcasino.co.uk will pay £977,887 in lieu of a financial penalty under a settlement and contribute to the Commission's investigation costs. The settlement also includes a divestment of £22,113, which is not included in the amount shown. Between September 2022 and June 2023 it did not implement its money laundering controls effectively – a bank statement submitted as proof of address showing unusual transactions was only scrutinised four months later – and between December 2022 and June 2023 its customer interaction fell short of the requirements. The Commission had already accepted a regulatory settlement from the company in 2021.

Authority / court

Gambling Commission

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

s. 116 Gambling Act 2005; LC 12.1.1 Abs. 3 und SRCP 3.4.3 Abs. 1 und 8 der Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Other

Repeat case

yes

Mitigating circumstances

A swift action plan with progress updates, full cooperation with information provided by agreed deadlines and early acceptance of the failings.

Published

9 Jan 2025

Original amount 977,887 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 9 Jan 2025.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

From January to September 2015, the broker had no effective systems against financial crime and was therefore exposed to the risk of facilitating fraudulent trading and money laundering in connection with cum-ex trades. Following proceedings before the Upper Tribunal, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) set the fine at £288,962.53 instead of the £744,745 originally intended.

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

FCA Principles 2 und 3 (PRIN 2, PRIN 3)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

reduced

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Employees

Under 50

Mitigating circumstances

Reduction by the Upper Tribunal

Published

10 Jan 2025

Original amount 288,962.53 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 9 Jan 2025.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 3 · Direct link

HMRC imposed a penalty of £175,701 under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 on the company, which is supervised for anti-money laundering purposes as a high value dealer. The failings concerned risk assessment, policies, controls and procedures, staff training, due diligence and record keeping; no appeal was lodged.

Authority / court

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

Reg. 18, 19, 24, 28, 35 und 40 Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Retail and e-commerce

Published

20 Nov 2024

Original amount 175,701 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 20 Nov 2024.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The FCA fined Metro Bank Plc £16,675,200. The FCA found that between June 2016 and December 2020 a data error meant that more than 60 million transactions worth over £51 billion were not fed into the bank's automated anti-money laundering monitoring system. For a long time the bank did not check whether data reached the system completely. The fine includes a 30% settlement discount.

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

FCA Principle 3; section 206 FSMA 2000

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Original amount 16,675,200 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 12 Nov 2024.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 2 · Direct link