UKGC Fines Greentube Alderney £1 Million for AML & Social Responsibility Failures

The United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) imposed £1 million penalty on Greentube Alderney Limited trading as Admiral Casino, amid social responsibility breaches & anti-money laundering (AML) failures.

The investigation revealed several lapses in the company’s adherence to AML regulations & social responsibility rules. As part of a settlement agreement with the UKGC, the operator will make the payment to socially responsible causes.

The most recent regulatory punishment is not the first that Greentube Alderney has faced in this country.

Back in 2021, the operator was fined £685,000 ($911,440) for violating licensing requirements. Greentube Alderney, like the most recent fine, was found to have violated anti-money laundering and social responsibility legislation between December 2019 and November 2020.

Even though the operator made improvements in response to previous regulatory actions, the recent sanction uncovered continued non-compliance and prompted a heavy financial penalty.

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John Pierce, the Director of Enforcement at the Gambling Commission, stated that the recent investigation was meant to be a follow-up compliance assessment to ensure that the operator has learned lessons from previous regulatory actions.

He also highlighted that the operator is identifying its mistakes and struggling to strengthen its AML/CFT framework.

According to the UKGC, Greentube failed to completely implement its own policy to ensure that user spending limitations were based on sustainable income and that papers submitted during KYC verification checks were authentic.

In one case, during verification, a consumer produced a bank statement showing other gambling activities together with a negative opening and closing amount. It wasn’t examined or reported until the player was £4,000 and four months.

 Additionally, the operator was charged with failing to alert “risky occupations.” In one case, a “finance manager” who had access to money that might be misappropriated or laundered went unmonitored.

Greentube was also fined by the UKGC for failing to properly investigate and disclose accounts with questionable linkages, which caused delays in reducing AML risks. 

In one instance, the operator failed to look into an account that shared the same address and last name as a blocked account associated with a client who had been convicted of drug delivery, according to a UKGC press release.

We will continue to monitor this operator to ensure they consistently meet the required regulatory standards, added John Pierce.