Financial Supervisory Authority Imposes Fine on Landesbank Helaba - Germany’s Helaba fined €20,000 for flawed anti-money laundering controls
Germany’s financial watchdog, BaFin, has fined Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen (Helaba) €20,000 for weaknesses in its anti-money laundering controls. The penalty follows an independent audit by PwC that found the bank’s systems were only partially effective during a 12-month period ending in September 2023. Helaba, which serves savings banks across four German states, reported a profit of €526 million last year.
The issues came to light after PwC reviewed Helaba’s anti-money laundering systems between October 2022 and September 2023. The audit concluded that the bank’s data processing for detecting suspicious transactions was not fully adequate during this time.
The €20,000 penalty reflects BaFin’s assessment of Helaba’s shortcomings in anti-money laundering oversight. The bank must now address the deficiencies highlighted in the audit. Regulators will likely continue monitoring its systems to ensure full compliance with financial crime prevention rules.
