AIB fined over €2.0m ahead of stock market debut

Allied Irish Banks has been hit with a €2.225m fine by the Irish Central Bank with the state-owned bank’s flotation on the London Stock Exchange just weeks away.

The fine has been imposed on the biggest bank in Ireland for breaches related to money laundering and tax evasion, with AIB admitting to the charges. The action relates to practices at the bank between 2010 and 2014.

According to a statement from the Central Bank, AIB did not "report suspicious transactions without delay" in account breaches which are suspected to have broken anti-money laundering as well as anti-terror financing laws.

At one time, the bank had a backlog of 4,200 alerts which it failed to report to Irish police service, the Gardaí.

At one time the bank had a backlog of 4,200 alerts which it failed to report to Irish police service

Another Irish financial institution, Ulster Bank, was fined over €3m for similar offences last year.

"In particular, we expect that our retail banks, as gateways to the financial system, have in place exemplary anti-money laundering systems and controls," said Derville Rowland, director of enforcement at the Central Bank.

In a statement, AIB said that "a comprehensive risk mitigation program was put in place to resolve all of the issues," adding that it fully cooperated with the authorities during the investigation.

AIB plans to float 25% of its business in London some time between May and July, as it continues to recover from a government bailout in 2009.