Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

The £365m money laundering den behind Natwest scandal

The £365m money laundering den behind Natwest scandal

It would have looked unremarkable to a passer-by: A man carrying a holdall, walking into a building on an industrial estate.
It was anything but. The bag was stuffed with more than £250,000 in cash.

And the man carrying it was among a procession of couriers who ensured up to £2million flowed into that building every day.

Police would later raid the premises and smash the network behind the operation.

In a subsequent trial, the judge branded their actions as money laundering on ‘a massive scale’.

It is against this dramatic backdrop that Natwest now finds itself heading to court.

The High Street lender, formerly known as Royal Bank of Scotland, was this week revealed to have provided banking services to the firm at the centre of the criminal operation – gold dealer Fowler Oldfield.

That led regulators to launch criminal proceedings against the bank on Tuesday, in a move that has surprised many in the City.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) accused Natwest of breaching anti-money-laundering regulations when handling a string of cash deposits made by Fowler Oldfield between November 2011 and October 2016.

Some £365million worth of payments into the firm’s account included £264million deposited in bank notes, the FCA alleges.

Financial firms must do everything possible to prevent their services from becoming the tools of criminals, laws passed in 2007 say.

The case against Natwest is the first criminal prosecution ever undertaken under the 2007 rules.

When handling funds from Fowler Oldfield, the FCA alleges that Natwest failed to properly scrutinise ‘increasingly large cash deposits’.

Fowler Oldfield was shut down in 2016 and its assets are in the hands of the police, who are still investigating.

Prosecutions have already resulted in several defendants from the Merseyside area being sentenced in the past two years, including men who transported the cash.

Prosecutors said a courier would be summoned by text message and did not know how much was in each bag he dropped off at Fowler Oldfield, according to a local newspaper report.

They would then hand the cash to Fowler Oldfield’s reception and were usually given an envelope containing a token for proof of delivery. The men were paid for transporting the money.

Bags were then unpacked in a counting room behind closed doors at Fowler Oldfield and the amount from each courier recorded in a ledger.

But it was this ledger and CCTV footage that later helped investigators to identify the couriers, after West Yorkshire Police’s economic crime unit raided the site in 2016.

Police were supported by the National Crime Agency, often dubbed Britain’s answer to the FBI, with 12 people arrested for money laundering offences.

When sentencing four couriers, crown court Judge Colin Burn noted that they had been targeted for recruitment because of their debts, often from gambling.

One man feared that if he had not delivered the money there would be consequences for himself and his family.

According to a liquidator report in January, Fowler Oldfield’s assets are still held by police. It still owes £1.7million to Natwest in overdrafts and loans, while £10.5million is owed to other unsecured creditors.

Police investigations into the money laundering remain ‘ongoing’, according to the liquidator’s report.

A source familiar with the probes said a remarkable aspect was the simple methods employed. ‘Money laundering these days can be complicated,’ the source said, adding that the convicted men were ‘doing it the old-fashioned way’.

Natwest has stated that it has cooperated with the criminal probe and that it took its anti-money-laundering responsibilities ‘extremely seriously’.

The Bank’s chief executive, Alison Rose, said that Natwest had ‘invested very significantly in systems and controls to prevent money laundering.’

No individuals have been charged, and there is a hearing listed at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on April 14.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
×