Nationwide fined £44m and slammed over Covid fraud

THE Nationwide has been fined £44million by the financial watchdog for failures to handle crime risks linked to its customers, including Covid fraud.

- By Anna Wise

The building society had inadequate anti-financial crime systems and controls between 2016 and 2021, the Financial Conduct Authority said.

It found Nationwide was aware that some of its personal current account customers were using their accounts for business activity but did not have the right controls to manage the resulting financial risks.

This meant it was unable to spot and manage money laundering risks and did not have an accurate assessment of customers who showed a higher risk of financial crime.