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William Hill fined £6.2m for failures in money laundering, social responsibility
Bookmaker William Hill has been forced to pay £6.2m in fines by the Gambling Commission for "systematic social responsibility and money laundering failures".
An investigation by the Commission showed that between November 2014 and August 2016, failures in William Hill's security checks resulted in ten customers being able to deposit large amounts of money that had been directly linked to criminal offences, resulting in gains of roughly £1.2m for the bookie.
"This was a systemic failing at William Hill which went on for nearly two years and today's penalty package - which could exceed £6.2m - reflects the seriousness of the breaches," said the Commission's executive director, Neil McArthur.
"Gambling businesses have a responsibility to ensure that they keep crime out of gambling and tackle problem gambling - and as part of that they must be constantly curious about where the money they are taking is coming from," McArthur added.
The commission accused William Hill's senior management of failing to mitigate risks and have sufficient staffing levels to ensure its anti-money laundering and social responsibilitiy processes were effective.
In addition to a £5m payment for the breaches, the £6.2m fine would also see William HIll divest the £1.2m it earned from the transactions. Victims of the ten customers will be reimbursed where they are identifiable.
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