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July 16, 2025

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UK’s FCA fines Barclays £42 million for ‘significant’ financial crime lapses

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UK financial regulators have imposed a hefty £42 million ($56 million) fine on Barclays Plc for significant failures in identifying and managing financial crime risks related to two of its clients.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) detailed the lapses in a statement on Wednesday, highlighting how the banking giant facilitated the movement of funds linked to criminal activity.

The majority of the fine is directly linked to Barclays’ inadequate management of money laundering risks associated with a client named Stunt & Co.

According to the FCA’s statement, over the course of a year, Stunt & Co. received a substantial £46.8 million from Fowler Oldfield, a company that was later found to be at the heart of one of the United Kingdom’s largest-ever money-laundering trials.

The regulator’s findings were damning. The FCA stated that “Barclays failed to properly consider the money laundering risks associated with the firm even after receiving information from law enforcement about suspected money laundering through Fowler Oldfield, and after learning that the police had raided both firms.”

The watchdog concluded that “by providing ongoing banking services to Stunt & Co, Barclays facilitated the movement of funds linked to financial crime,” a severe breach of its regulatory obligations.

Lapses in due diligence: the WealthTek account

In a separate instance, Barclays was found to have failed in its due diligence when opening a money account for another client, WealthTek.

The FCA noted that Barclays failed to properly gather sufficient information about WealthTek before onboarding the company. Crucially, WealthTek was not permitted by the FCA to hold client money at the time Barclays provided it with the account.

The regulator pointed out that a basic but critical step was missed. “One simple check it could have done was to look at the Financial Services Register before opening the account,” the FCA said.

Without the right information about WealthTek and how the account would be used, there was an increased risk of misappropriation of client money or money laundering.

Barclays’ response

In an effort to mitigate the harm caused, Barclays has agreed to make a voluntary payment of £6.3 million to the clients of WealthTek who have experienced a shortfall in the money they have been able to reclaim from the now-defunct firm.

This proactive step, according to the FCA’s statement, helped Barclays secure a reduction in the ultimate fine it faced from the regulator.

In response to the fine, a spokesperson for Barclays stated that the bank “remains deeply committed to the fight against financial crime and fraud,” adding that the issues were all centered around historical money laundering activity.

The representative affirmed that the lender “fully cooperated with both investigations and has further strengthened its financial crime and other control capabilities.”

The post UK’s FCA fines Barclays £42 million for ‘significant’ financial crime lapses appeared first on Invezz

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In World news

Seabed Mining Heats Up as Lockheed Martin Courts Interest in Pacific Licenses

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Defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) is in early talks with undersea mining companies to open access to two dormant seabed exploration licenses it has held since the 1980s

The move signals a renewed US push to tap the ocean floor for critical minerals.

The licenses, which cover swaths of the eastern Pacific seabed in international waters, were awarded to Lockheed by US regulators decades ago during a previous wave of interest in deep-sea mining.

Though the projects never progressed to extraction, they are now gaining fresh attention as nations and corporations seek alternative sources of key minerals used in electric vehicles, defense technologies, and clean energy systems.

“We are in early stages of conversations with several companies about giving them access to our licences and allowing them to process those materials,” Frank St. John, Lockheed’s chief operating officer, told the Financial Times.

While St. John declined to quantify the potential value of the deposits, he added that interested parties have “done the homework and determined there is value there.”

Lockheed’s seabed licenses could represent a strategic foothold in a mineral-rich region, containing polymetallic nodules that can hold commercially viable concentrations of key metals.

The timing also coincides with recent executive action from the White House.

USPresident Donald Trump, who returned to office in January, signed an executive order in April asserting US rights to issue mining licenses in international waters and encouraging the stockpiling of seabed metals as strategic resources.

The order bypasses ongoing negotiations at the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the UN agency tasked with regulating deep-sea mining, and instead relies on the 1980 US Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act as the legal foundation.

It emphasizes the need to “establish the US as a global leader in seabed mineral exploration and development both within and beyond national jurisdiction.” While the US has not ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea — the treaty from which the ISA derives its authority — it has signed a 1994 agreement recognizing the treaty’s seabed provisions and operates its own permitting system through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Lockheed said it welcomes the renewed policy attention. “We believe the US has the opportunity to develop a gold standard for commercial recovery of nodules in an environmentally responsible manner.”

Court upholds TMC disclosures on deep-dea mining risks

Lockheed is not alone in navigating the legal uncertainties surrounding seabed mining.

The Metals Company (TMC) (NASDAQ:TMC), a deep-sea mining startup, recently survived a shareholder lawsuit alleging it had misled investors about the environmental impacts and financial backing of its operations.

US District Judge Eric Komitee dismissed the claims, ruling that the company’s comparisons to conventional mining methods were not misleading, even if deep-sea mining still carries environmental risks.

“It is eminently possible that (1) deep-sea mining causes meaningful environmental harm, and yet (2) such harm is significantly less than the harm caused by existing methods,” the judge wrote.

TMC had disclosed in filings that deep-sea mining could result in damage and that the regulatory path remained uncertain. Its legal win may encourage others — like Lockheed — to proceed more openly with their seabed plans, albeit cautiously.

Deep-sea mining industry cautiously awakens

The growing pursuit of potentially extracting resources from the world’s oceans comes at a critical juncture for the seabed-mining industry. For decades, a de facto moratorium on mining in international waters has been in place due to regulatory uncertainty and environmental concerns.

The ISA has issued more than 30 exploratory permits, but has yet to finalize commercial extraction rules. That delay has prompted frustration from some parties, while drawing calls from others for a pause or outright ban.

Currently, the ISA is holding key assemblies in Jamaica to hash out the long-awaited mining code to regulate commercial activity on the ocean floor with provisions for environmental safeguards, royalties, and tax obligations.

But a growing number of countries — 37 at last count — have pushed for a precautionary pause, citing risks to deep-sea ecosystems that remain largely uncharted. Scientists warn that mining these habitats could cause irreversible damage.

In 2023, Lockheed appeared to step back from the sector by selling two UK-sponsored exploration licenses in the Pacific, a move interpreted by analysts as signaling reduced confidence in deep-sea mining.

However, its retained US licenses suggest it never fully exited the space.

The Trump administration’s executive order marks the most assertive US step yet to undermine the ISA’s multilateral approach, raising fears among diplomats that the agency may lose legitimacy.

China, which has also invested heavily in seabed mining, responded sharply to the move.

“The US authorization violates international law and harms the overall interests of the international community,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said earlier this year.

Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

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In Business

Some Walmart garment orders from Bangladesh on hold due to U.S. tariff threat

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LONDON/NEW YORK, July 11 (Reuters) – Suppliers to Walmart WMT.N have delayed or put on hold some orders from garment manufacturers in Bangladesh, according to three factory owners and correspondence from a supplier seen by Reuters, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of a 35% tariff on the textile hub disrupts business.

Bangladesh is the third-largest exporter of apparel to the United States, and it relies on the garment sector for 80% of its export earnings and 10% of its GDP. The factory owners all said they expected orders to fall if the August 1 tariffs go into effect, as they are unable to absorb that 35% rate.

Iqbal Hossain, managing director of garment manufacturer Patriot Eco Apparel Ltd, told Reuters an order for nearly 1 million swim shorts for Walmart was put on hold on Thursday due to the tariff threat.

“As we discussed please hold all below Spring season orders we are discussing here due to heavy Tariff % imposed for USA imports,” Faruk Saikat, assistant merchandising manager at Classic Fashion, wrote in an email to Hossain and others seen by Reuters. Classic Fashion is a supplier and buying agent that places orders for retailers.

“As per our management instruction we are holding Bangladesh production for time being and IN case Tariff issues settled then we will continue as we planned here.”

The hold was not decided by Walmart, Saikat told Reuters, but by Classic Fashion itself.

Walmart did not respond to a request for comment.

Bangladesh is currently in talks with the United States in Washington to try to negotiate a lower tariff. Trump in recent days has revived threats of higher levies on numerous nations.

“If the 35% tariff remains for Bangladesh, that will be very tough to sustain, honestly speaking, and there will not be as many orders as we have now,” said Mohiuddin Rubel, managing director at jeans manufacturer Denim Expert Ltd in Dhaka.

Rubel, whose company produces jeans for H&M HMb.ST and other retailers, said he expects clients will ask him to absorb part of the tariff, but added this would not be possible financially. Manufacturers have already absorbed part of the blanket 10% tariff imposed by the U.S. on April 2.

“Only probably the big, big companies can a little bit sustain (tariffs) but not the small and medium companies,” he said.

Retailers have front-loaded orders since Trump returned to the White House, anticipating higher tariffs. Jeans maker Levi’s LEVI.N, which imports from Bangladesh, said on Thursday it has 60% of the inventory it needs for the rest of 2025.

U.S. clothing imports from Bangladesh totaled $3.38 billion in the first five months of 2025, up 21% from the year-earlier period, according to U.S. International Trade Commission data.

Another Dhaka-based garment factory owner said an importer with whom he was negotiating a spring 2026 order of trousers for Walmart asked him on Thursday to wait a week before the order would be confirmed due to the tariff risk.

Hossain said he may look for more orders from European clients to make up for lost orders if the U.S. 35% tariff gets implemented, even if he has to cut prices to stimulate demand.

(Reuters reporting by Helen Reid in London and Siddharth Cavale in New York; Editing by David Gaffen and Matthew Lewis)

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

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In Politics

Huckabee demands Israel ‘aggressively investigate’ murder of Palestinian-American killed in ‘terrorist act’

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The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, on Tuesday called on Israeli authorities to ‘aggressively investigate’ the killing of Sayfollah Musallet, a 20-year-old Palestinian-American who was reportedly beaten to death by a gang of extremist settlers in the West Bank village of Sinjil on Friday.

‘We have asked Israel to aggressively investigate the murder of Saif Mussallet, an American citizen who was visiting family in Sinjil when he was beaten to death in the West Bank,’ Huckabee wrote on X. ‘There must be accountability for this criminal and terrorist act. Saif was only 20 years old.’

According to the family, Musallet was visiting the West Bank from Tampa, Florida, to reconnect with relatives and visit family-owned farmland. 

‘This is an unimaginable nightmare and injustice that no family should ever have to face,’ the family said in a statement. ‘We demand the U.S. State Department lead an immediate investigation and hold the Israeli settlers who killed Saif accountable for their crimes.’

Israeli military officials said the confrontation began when Palestinians threw rocks at settlers, lightly injuring two. IDF forces were deployed to the area and used non-lethal crowd control methods, the army said.

So far, no Israeli suspects have been arrested in connection with the killings. Two Israeli minors detained on Friday night for suspected involvement in public disturbances were later released to house arrest. A reserve soldier questioned by the military police over the shooting during the incident was also released.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Musallet was fatally beaten during an attack by settlers in the area. Another man, 23-year-old Mohammed al-Shalabi, was shot in the chest and also killed during the same incident. 

Sources in the Israeli police told Haaretz newspaper that the lack of an autopsy and the fact that the bodies were not transferred to Israeli authorities may complicate the investigation.

A military court also released Abdullah Hamida, a Palestinian resident arrested during the settler raid, criticizing police conduct. During the hearing, the police representative admitted he was unaware that any Palestinians had been killed, and incorrectly claimed the only wounded were settlers.

The State Department acknowledged awareness of the incident but declined further comment, Reuters reports, citing ‘respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones.’

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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