Updated October 31

The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) has fined Lombard Bank €340,058 for breaches of anti-money laundering rules. 

In a statement on Friday, the bank said that the FIAU had noted the shortcomings during an inspection carried out in September and October of 2019. 

The breaches of Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) obligations were of an administrative nature and did not relate to suspicions or evidence of money laundering, it said.

Lombard said it would be appealing the FIAU decision.

FIAU findings

The FIAU found that the bank had breached five separate AML/CFT provisions. In one case, it had failed to properly ascertain the source of funds of a client who was a politically exposed person. Inspectors also found three other files which lacked adequate information about the source of wealth. 

Inspectors also found that periodic reviews of many files were overdue and in its report the FIAU expressed concern that not all of the bank's documentation was centralised. 

Furthermore, they noted "serious shortcomings" in the way Lombard had scrutinised certain transactions taking place through the customers’ accounts.  

In its statement, Lombard said it wanted to reassure all its stakeholders that it has always been, and remains, committed to preventing the use of its services for any form of illicit activity. 

It said that, as a matter of policy, it does not enter do business with inherently risky sectors and that it was continuing to invest in technical and human resources to further minimise the potential for financial crime. 

In its statement, Lombard pointed to its 50-year history as a trustworthy institution and reaffirmed its policy of zero-tolerance even in cases that suggest the slightest hint of improper conduct.