Barclays Bank has been hit with a heavy fine of £42.4 million by the UK’s financial regulator for not properly handling the risk of money laundering in two different situations linked to WealthTek and Stunt & Co.

Out of the total fine, £39.3 million was for Barclays’ failure to manage risks when dealing with Stunt & Co, a company owned by socialite James Stunt. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said Barclays didn’t do enough checks when the business relationship started and also failed to monitor the company over time. During this period, Stunt & Co got £46.8 million from Fowler Oldfield, which the FCA described as part of a major money laundering operation. Even after police warned the bank and raided the firms, Barclays didn’t take action. James Stunt was found not guilty earlier this year in a separate £200 million money laundering case.

In another case, Barclays Bank UK was fined £3.1 million for not properly checking WealthTek before opening a client account. The FCA found that Barclays did not realise WealthTek wasn’t licensed to handle client funds. Despite this, £34 million was deposited into the account. Barclays has now agreed to pay £6.3 million to help WealthTek’s clients who lost money when the firm collapsed.

Therese Chambers, a senior official at the FCA, said these mistakes made it easier for criminals to clean illegal money and for scammers to cheat customers. She stressed that banks must act fast when they notice signs of financial crime. She also noted that Barclays got a smaller fine than it could have because it cooperated with the FCA and offered to help affected clients.

Barclays has responded by saying it takes financial crime seriously and that this case was about things that happened in the past. The bank pointed out that the FCA didn’t find any direct breaches of money laundering laws. Barclays also said it had reviewed its actions, reported them itself, worked with the FCA, and made changes to improve how it fights financial crime.