UKGC Fines Greentube Alderney £1 Million for Compliance Failures

Social Responsibility Failures

The investigation revealed that Greentube Alderney fell short in implementing its own social responsibility policies. Key issues included:

• Income Assessment Practices: Customer limits were not consistently based on sustainable income sources, as outlined in the operator’s policy.
• Document Verification: Processes to verify the authenticity of customer documents were not fully implemented.
• Vulnerability Indicators: The company failed to identify warning signs of harm or vulnerability promptly. For instance, a customer submitted a bank statement with a negative balance and multiple gambling-related transactions but was allowed to deposit £4,000 over four months before the issues were addressed.

Anti-Money Laundering Failures

The Commission also identified serious AML shortcomings, such as:

• Delayed Scrutiny of Transactions: A customer’s bank statement, showing over £100,000 in complex transactions and a negative balance, went unreviewed for four months.
• Risk Profiles for High-Risk Occupations: The potential risk posed by customers in “risky occupations,” such as a finance manager with access to misappropriable funds, was not adequately considered.
• Account Link Investigations: Accounts with apparent connections to other high-risk accounts were not escalated promptly. In one case, the operator overlooked links to an account associated with a convicted individual.

Recurrence of Regulatory Action

This is not the first time Greentube Alderney has faced regulatory scrutiny. In 2021, the company paid £685,000 for similar failings in social responsibility and AML compliance.

John Pierce, the Commission’s Director of Enforcement, emphasized the importance of consistent regulatory adherence:

“While we noted that the business had made significant general improvements, further regulatory breaches were still identified. The operator was subsequently required to swiftly put in place an effective action plan designed to remedy all of the identified failings.

“We want to remind all operators that any business found to breach rules designed to keep gambling safe and free from crime for a second time should expect increasingly stringent enforcement action. Any failure to uphold anti-money laundering standards is unacceptable, and today’s action reflects the gravity of the breaches identified.”

The Commission has vowed to maintain close oversight of Greentube Alderney to ensure sustained compliance with regulatory standards.