UK fines Standard Bank

British authorities have fined a South Africa-based bank 7.6 million pounds ($12.6 million) for failing to carry out adequate safeguards to combat money laundering. The Financial Conduct Authority fined Standard Bank, the UK subsidiary of Standard Bank Group, for shortcomings in its procedures regarding corporate customers with political ties. The group has extensive operations in 18 African countries and operations in 13 other countries outside of Africa. Tracey McDermott, the FCA's director of enforcement and financial crime, says that if banks accept business from high risk customers they must have systems in place to manage that risk and that "Standard Bank clearly failed in this respect", according to a news agency.