THE owner of Royal Bank of Scotland has pleaded guilty to three breaches of money laundering regulations.

NatWest Group has in a statement this morning said the three offences relate to its failure to comply with the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 between November 7 2013 and June 23 2016, and between November 8 2012 and June 23 2016.

The offences were in relation to the accounts of a UK incorporated customer.

NatWest said the regulations required the firm to determine and conduct risk sensitive ongoing monitoring of its customers for the purposes of preventing money laundering. The offences relate to operational weaknesses between 2012 and 2016 which meant that NatWest did not adequately monitor the accounts of that customer, the bank said.

Alison Rose, chief executive of NatWest, said: “We deeply regret that NatWest failed to adequately monitor and therefore prevent money laundering by one of our customers between 2012 and 2016. NatWest has a vital part to play in detecting and preventing financial crime and we take extremely seriously our responsibility to prevent money laundering by third parties.

“In the years since this case, we have invested significant resources and continue to enhance our efforts to effectively combat financial crime.

“We work tirelessly with colleagues, other banks, industry bodies, law enforcement, regulators, and governments to help find collaborative solutions to this shared challenge. These partnerships are crucial to counter the significant and evolving threat of financial crime to society.”