(Adds more comments)
LONDON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Britain's banks must make the
fight against dirty money a "top priority" or risk facing more
severe fines, Bank of England Deputy Governor Sam Woods said on
Tuesday.
Global banks, including UK-based HSBC, Barclays and Standard
Chartered, face a fresh scandal about dirty money after a cache
of leaked documents showed they transferred more than $2
trillion in suspect funds over nearly two decades.
Woods said it was vital that banks play their part in
fighting financial crime as the leaks were a good reminder of
how criminals will use the financial system for their own ends.
"If the banks get this wrong, then costs for them are very
severe, as you have seen in recent years the big fines here in
the UK and in the U.S.," Woods told Bloomberg TV.
"They have been doing a lot but they'll need to do more, and
unfortunately this is one of those things that the job is never
done."
Banks have been investing hugely in anti-money laundering
controls over the past five years, he said.
"I am not sure that we need new rules at this point," Woods
said.
(Reporting by Huw Jones
Editing by Gareth Jones, William Maclean)