NatWest has pleaded to guilty to three offences under money laundering regulations that led to almost £400 million in payments from a single customer being washed through the bank.
The offences relate to operational weaknesses between 2012 and 2016 which meant that NatWest did not adequately monitor the accounts of a UK incorporated customer.
The case was first brought to public attention by the Financial Conduct Authority in March, which accused the bank of paying around £365m into the customer's accounts, of which around £264m was in cash.
At its height, the company - a jewellery business in Bradford with an expected turnover of £15 million a year - deposited up to £1.8m a day.
The case has been remitted to the Crown Court for sentencing which will be determined at a subsequent hearing, expected to be in four to eight weeks' time. A provision will be made in NatWest's Q3 2021 financial accounts in anticipation of a potential fine being imposed at that hearing.
NatWest CEO Alison Rose says the bank has invested almost £700m in the last five years including upgrades to transaction monitoring systems, automated customer screening and new customer due diligence solutions. A further £1 billion has been allocated to financial crime controls over the next five years.
"We deeply regret that NatWest failed to adequately monitor and therefore prevent money laundering by one of our customers between 2012 and 2016," says Rose. "In the years since this case, we have invested significant resources and continue to enhance our efforts to effectively combat financial crime."