Mo Farah calls for Barclays to change mind on payment firms
BARCLAYS yesterday rejected calls from Olympic champion Mo Farah to keep working with up to 250 payments firms, including four who send payments to Somalia.
A crackdown on banks who do not take proper precautions against money launderers means lenders are reviewing who they work with.
“Cutting this lifeline would be a disaster for millions,” said Farah, who sends funds to Somalia.
But Barclays said it has little choice in the matter.
“We must comply with the rules in all the jurisdictions in which we operate,” it said in a statement. “Some money service businesses don’t have the proper checks in place to spot criminal activity and could unwittingly be facilitating money laundering and terrorist financing.”