The FCA has publicly censured the former CEO of Sonali Bank UK (SBUK), Mohammad Ataur Rahman Prodhan, for anti-money laundering (AML) failings.

Prodhan was the senior manager at SBUK with responsibility for the establishment and maintenance of effective AML systems and controls. 

Between 2012 and 2014, the regulator found that Prodhan had failed to take reasonable steps to mitigate the AML risks arising from “a culture of non-compliance” among SBUK’s staff. The FCA also stated that he failed to ensure that there was a clear allocation of responsibilities to oversee SBUK’s branches, and he also failed to manage SBUK’s Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) function. 

As a result of the failings, the FCA said that the SBUK’s staff did not appreciate the need to comply with AML requirements, and the MLRO function was ineffective in monitoring their compliance. This led to systemic failures in SBUK’s AML systems and controls throughout the business.

“Prodhan failed to maintain proper AML systems and allowed a culture of non-compliance among the bank’s staff,” commented Executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, Mark Steward.

The FCA initially decided to impose a financial penalty of £76,400 on Prodhan in May 2018. He referred the case to the Upper Tribunal, where proceedings have been delayed significantly as a result of the pandemic and limitations on Prodhan’s ability to travel to the UK from Bangladesh, where he now resides.  

While the FCA considers the financial penalty to be appropriate, it stated that there are now “exceptional circumstances” for the case to be resolved by agreement, including the lack of any prospect of enforcing payment of a financial penalty.

Prodhan has withdrawn his referral to the Upper Tribunal and agreed to accept a public censure.

“While a financial penalty was appropriate in this case, prolonged litigation to enforce a penalty that is unlikely to be paid against a person who may not be able to travel to the UK to explain himself in person to the Upper Tribunal is neither practical nor fair,” Steward added. “In these exceptional circumstances, a public censure is an appropriate resolution of the case.”

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