Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority has disclosed restrictions on six unregulated lenders after raising concerns about their anti-money-laundering policies, controls and procedures.
The October 23 announcement covers Annex 1 firms that must register with the FCA for supervision under the Money Laundering Regulations but are not authorised for the wider range of regulated financial services. The restrictions were imposed at the firms’ request during the registration-assessment process.
Kingscrown Finance is required to wind down its existing loan book and faces limits on receiving customer payments. MOMSB and Momentus Capital may not take new customers or enter most new lending arrangements, face restrictions on accepting payments and must obtain an independent review of their anti-money-laundering framework. Comparable measures apply to Grosvenor Funding and Grosvenor Funding (North West). Abbital faces conditions governing new customers, lending and payments, together with an independent review.
The underlying restrictions were imposed on different dates between April and October; the new development is the FCA’s consolidated public disclosure and explanation of its supervisory approach. The regulator said it is also assessing responses to information requests sent to about 900 registered Annex 1 firms.
Registration under the Money Laundering Regulations does not amount to full FCA authorisation. The regulator warned banks and other authorised firms that registration also does not replace their own due diligence when dealing with these lenders. The restrictions are protective supervisory measures, not findings that any named firm committed money laundering.
