Monaco’s financial watchdog, the Commission de Controle des Activites Financieres, has reprimanded the local division of Swiss bank Julius Baer Group Ltd. for failing to maintain proper internal controls over 160 million euros in client transactions.
The Commission revealed that Julius Baer bankers lacked appropriate measures for a series of 10 transactions conducted by an unnamed client. Despite the significance of these transactions, including one for over 36 million euros, they did not receive the necessary scrutiny from the bank’s management or internal control departments.
Authorities noted that these transactions should have been routed through the bank’s head office in Zurich, and the customer records appeared contradictory or inconsistent.
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Julius Baer reportedly fell victim to an employee’s actions that unknowingly circumvented the bank’s rules and procedures, leading the bank to file a criminal complaint with Monaco prosecutors.
The public sanction comes as the principality aims to strengthen its anti-money laundering systems following its recent addition to the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list.
Featured image courtesy of REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
