By Charley Brooke Barnett
Reports have emerged over the last 48-hours suggesting that Revolut, the UK’s fastest growing digital bank, allowed lapses in its anti-money laundering protocol for three consecutive months. The failings, which occurred last year, raise questions over potentially illicit activity. With the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) now knocking at its door, the bank clearly has some explaining to do.
Nik Storonsky, Founder & CEO of Revolut was quick to respond to any compliance failures “At no point during this time did we fail to meet our legal or regulatory requirements. We conducted a thorough review of all transactions that were processed during this time, which confirmed that there were no breaches.”
Since launching in 2015, Revolut has taken the fintech world by storm, collecting 4 million plus customers and earning unicorn status in the process. However, the challenger is now making headlines for all the wrong reasons and speculation regarding their business practices is growing.
With the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) now knocking at its door, the bank clearly has some explaining to do
This latest controversy follows the resignation of Chief Financial Officer Peter O’Higgins earlier this week. Previously at JP Morgan for 12 years, O’Higgins confirmed he is stepping down from his role as CFO on Thursday. Storonsky has firmly denied any connection between anti-money laundering issues and the resignation. He stated that any assumption to the contrary is, “utterly false and damaging… Peter has decided to step down on the basis that he feels that the business will require someone with global retail banking experience as we prepare to apply to become a licensed bank in multiple jurisdictions.”
An article published in Wired on Thursday added fuel to the fire, with insiders describing an abrasive company culture and the resultant high staff turnover rate. Revolut customers have also recently reported difficulties accessing certain functions of the app including top-ups and exchanges.
