Revolut handed £3m fine for money laundering control ‘shortcomings’
UK fintech Revolut has been fined €3.5m (£3m) by the Bank of Lithuania for inefficiencies in its money laundering control.
The neobank was blasted for “violations and shortcomings in the monitoring of business relationships and [transactions]” by the Bank of Lithuania.
The watchdog said failings had “resulted in the bank not always properly identifying suspicious monetary operations or transactions carried out by customers”.
This marks the steepest penalty in the firm’s history.
The fine follows a scheduled inspection by the central bank, which highlighted failings in the fintech’s internal controls.
After the inspection, Revolut had approached the regulator with plans to rectify the violations and fix inefficiencies.
The Bank of Lithuania’s investigation did not identify any confirmed instances of money laundering and findings are related to improvements of existing controls.
‘Highest standards of regulatory compliance’
The scale of the fine was reached considering the nature, duration and scope of the violations, alongside the total revenue of the Revolut Holdings Europe – its Lithuanian arms parent company.
The firm’s Lithuanian credit institution, Revolut Bank UAB, is licensed and regulated by the Bank of Lithuania and the European Central bank. It operates in banking services, including payment, deposit and credit products.
Revolut was previously fined €70,000 (£60,000) by the Lithuanian regulators in 2022 for failing to submit its financial statements on time.
In 2019 the Financial Conduct Authority investigated the fintech for failing to comply with its anti-money laundering systems.
A spokesperson for Revolut said: “Revolut Bank UAB is committed to the highest standards of regulatory compliance and cooperated with the Bank of Lithuania in taking immediate action to address the procedural deficiencies.
“We continue to invest to ensure we have best in class controls in the fight against financial crime.”
The neobank received its UK banking licence in July last year. It is a part of a group of fintechs expected to publicly list in the near future.
In December 2024 Revolut’s chief executive Nik Storonsky said an IPO in London was “not rational”.