Starling Bank Fined £29m for 'Lax' Financial Crime Controls

The FCA penalized the digital bank for failing to adequately screen for financial crimes and opening accounts for high-risk customers.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) fined Starling Bank £29 million for inadequate financial crime prevention measures.
The bank's crime control systems failed to keep pace with its rapid growth from 43,000 customers in 2017 to 3.6 million in 2023.
Starling opened 54,000 accounts for 49,000 high-risk customers between September 2021 and November 2023, violating FCA agreements.
An internal review in January 2023 revealed that Starling's automated system only screened a fraction of the required financial sanctions list.
Starling has implemented extensive safeguards and strengthened its governance to address these issues and comply with regulatory requirements.