Employees of Barclays Private Bank expressed concern over the source of money which was later the subject of an undercover "sting" operation...

Employees of Barclays Private Bank expressed concern over the source of money which was later the subject of an undercover "sting" operation by law enforcement agencies in America and Canada according to a report in The Sunday Times. According to the report, Barclays Private Bank allowed accounts used to launder Colombian drugs money to operate while HSBC and ABN Amro, also used by the same customer, tipped off British police. During the investigation, American investigators tipped off officers at the UK National Crime Squad concerning money credited to the account of a BPB client called Auxerre, a shell company registered in the British Virgin Islands. It had tens of millions of dollars in five Barclays accounts. The company appeared to have been owned by textile magnate Jose Douer-Ambar from Bogota in Colombia. In August 2000 Mr Douer had opened an account with HSBC in London. In the first four months it received 60 wire transfers totalling $5.7 million. In September 2000 Mr Douer also opened an account at ABN Amro in Jersey with two deposits of $4 million. Officials at both banks were suspicious because the sources of the money had no obvious relationship to Douer and both tipped off NCS about their suspicions and asked Mr Douer to take the money elsewhere. Memos between senior BPB staff show that there were discussions about whether money in the accounts was linked to crime, according to the report. They also show that the bank decided not to act against Mr Douer. In one memo, The Sunday Times asserts that Richard Lister, the bank's compliance officer, asked the manager of the Auxerre accounts: "Do we know that they [the Douers] are above board? "Have we even asked the question and obtained a satisfactory answer? Do we know the source/application of the funds so we can confirm they are coming from or going to companies that we know are investment vehicles for the family?” The account manager wrote back saying: "I asked Mrs Douer about their business activities in Colombia on several occasions and have not had reason to doubt they are in the textile trade." NCS investigations showed that $1.8 million had been deposited in Auxerre accounts at Barclays in 53 wire transfers between 1997 and 2001. It also linked more than $8 million deposits in the BPB accounts to two other Colombian laundering suspects. At one stage in the investigation the UK government froze $54 million held with Barclays Private Bank at the request of the United States, according to the report. A UK Crown Prosecution Service spokeswoman told The Sunday Times: "We concluded there was insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction against any individual at Barclays Private Bank in connection with the allegations."