Bank of Ireland Fined $3.52 Million For Breaching Money Laundering Rules

Published: 30 May 2017

Bank of Ireland

Bank of Ireland (Photo: Ardfern, CC BY-SA 3.0)

By Vanja Lakic

Ireland’s central bank said Tuesday it fined the Bank of Ireland €3.15 million (US$ 3.52 million) for neglecting its anti-money laundering and terrorist financing controls.

Bank of Ireland, the country’s largest bank by assets, was reprimanded for 12 breaches dating back to 2010 including the failure to report six suspicious transactions to the police of Ireland, and Revenue Commissioners, according to the Central Bank of Ireland.

"The high volume and range of breaches uncovered as part of the investigation point to significant weaknesses in the strength of Bank of Ireland's implementation of anti-money laundering legislation," said Derville Rowland, director of enforcement at the central bank.

The latest penalty comes as Ireland’s second and third largest retail banks, Royal Bank of Scotland's Ulster Bank and Allied Irish Banks were fined €3.3 million (US$3.7 million) and €2.27 million (US$2.5 million) respectively in recent months for similar breaches.