Barclays Fined $109 Million for Risk Failings on 'Elephant Deal'

Barclays Plc was fined 72.1 million pounds ($109 million) by U.K. regulators for failing to fully probe a group of “politically exposed” ultra-high-net-worth clients tied to a 1.9 billion-pound transaction.

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