This is the third high-profile money laundering scandal to involve major British banks this year – John McDonnell

John
McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, responding
to reports linking British Banks to money laundering activity in South Africa,
said:

“This is the third high-profile money laundering
scandal to involve major British banks this year, and London has become
notorious as a global centre for money laundering. There are many hardworking
people in our banking sector who will feel frustrated and dismayed by such
stories, but they are let down by poor leadership and weak oversight that undermines
the financial sector’s reputation. 

"It’s time the Chancellor considered a wide ranging independent inquiry
that leaves no stone unturned in rooting out unlawful and damaging activity.
The Government cannot continue to drag its feet on this matter as it will be
the British banking industry as a whole that risks long-term damage to the
reputation on which it depends.”