TransferGo hit with €310,000 fine from Bank of Lithuania for AML failings
Electronic money institution UAB TransferGo Lithuania has landed a €310,000 fine from the Bank of Lithuania after the central bank deemed the firm “violated the requirements of the Republic of Lithuania Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing”.
TransferGo fined €310,000 by Bank of Lithuania
The country’s central bank says it unearthed deficiencies in how the firm identified, assessed and managed money laundering and terrorist financing risks.
“The procedures applied by UAB TransferGo Lithuania did not always ensure that customers, their representatives or beneficial owners were properly identified,” the Bank of Lithuania said in a statement.
“The institution did not always collect information on the purpose and intended nature of the customer’s business relationships and adequately verify the information about the customer’s beneficial owner in reliable and independent sources.”
The central bank adds its due diligence procedures around high-risk customers were also found to be lacking.
The Bank of Lithuania continues: “The measures implemented by UAB TransferGo Lithuania to monitor the customer’s business relationships and operations (transactions) were insufficient to properly manage money laundering and terrorist financing risks.
“When monitoring operations, the institution did not always ensure that operations corresponded to its knowledge of the customer, their business, risk profile and source of funds. In addition, the institution did not report suspicious monetary operations or transactions in accordance with the legal requirements.”
Furthermore, the central bank says the firm failed to appoint a member of the board to implement anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing measures or a senior employee to liaise with the Financial Crime Investigation Service.
Next steps for TransferGo
In addition to the fine, UAB TransferGo Lithuania has also received a mandatory instruction from the bank to resolve “all identified violations of legal acts and deficiencies by 1 December 2023”.
“TransferGo takes its responsibility to protect its customers and prevent money laundering very seriously,” a spokesperson for TransferGo tells FinTech Futures.
The central bank has confirmed that it has already received a plan from the institution detailing how it intends to remedy its failings, and that a portion of the identified deficiencies have already been resolved.
“We have worked closely with the Bank of Lithuania to resolve the majority of their findings with a mutually agreed remediation plan, and no instances of money laundering or other financial crimes were identified by TransferGo or by the Bank of Lithuania,” the TransferGo spokesperson continues.
“TransferGo will continue to invest in maintaining and improving our AML processes to the highest standards in partnership with the regulators we work with around the world.”
The news comes after the Bank of Lithuania revoked the EMI licence of UAB PayrNet last month, alleging the firm violated the Republic of Lithuania Law on Electronic Money and Electronic Money Institutions, the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing and the Law on Payments.
