WEE THINKER
WATCHDOG SETS FIRST COURT DATE
Across
1 Festival could be a wild one (6) 5 Play my old English tune (6) 8 Buoyant demand for goods – high-end (products) (8) 9 Doctor about to get extra (4) 10 Out of French cheese, take time off (4) 11 Mutually respond to certain movement ahead of junction (8) 12 Fancied chow, fast food (3,3) 13 Aim to lodge a protest (6) 15 When ready to play, agree to attack (5,3) 18 Firm regarding heart (4) 19 Old queen achieved nothing (4) 20 Hero-worshipper I swindle afterwards (8) 21 Peacekeepers genuine? Not true (6) 22 Substitute keepers at zoo enclosure (6)
Down
2 Some rip off country when taking off (13) 3 Scared when mad Lear runs amok (7) 4 Hint of a bell sound without intro (7) 5 Choral work from remote territory (5) 6 Animal involved in vile murder (5)
7 Supervise present-day power supply (6,7) 13 Abroad, arrive at a result (7) 14 Yes, German sacks poor fool (7) 16 Showed preference for cold pipe (5) 17 Fancy gathering for the opening stream (5)
THE City watchdog has launched criminal proceedings against taxpayer-backed NatWest for alleged failures under money laundering rules.
The Financial Conduct Authority claims “increasingly large cash deposits” were made into a NatWest customer’s account. It alleged that around £365million was paid in – and £264million of that was deposited in cash.
The accusation is that NatWest’s systems and controls “failed to properly monitor and scrutinise” the activity, which took place between November 11, 2011, and October 19, 2016.
NatWest is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on April14. It marks the first time the watchdog has launched a criminal prosecution under the UK’s money laundering regulations. No individuals are being charged as part of the proceedings. The regulator first alerted NatWest Group, formerly Royal Bank of Scotland, of the investigation in July 2017. The group, which is 62 per cent owned by the Government after a mammoth bailout at the height of the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009, said it was co-operating with the FCA’s investigation. The bank said: “NatWest Group takes extremely seriously its responsibility to seek to prevent money laundering by third parties and accordingly has made significant, multi-year investments in its financial crime systems and controls.”
SOFA chain ScS vowed to return some of the furlough claimed from money it had it Government as the a £17.7million swung to months profit in the six to the end of January.
SHARES in guarantor lender Amigo tumbled further yesterday after it said the Financial Conduct Authority had extended the scope of an investigation into its practices. The FCA launched a probe last May into how Amigo assesses the creditworthiness of customers and how it governs the process.