Willis says it has taken "comprehensive and effective action" to remedy the shortfalls in overseas payment controls discovered by the Financial Services Authority.
Willis Limited, the UK legal entity of Willis Group Holdings, today paid a £6.9m settlement to the FSA for breaches of the FSA Handbook.
In a review covering 2005 to 2009, the FSA found problems with the way Willis Limited implemented and documented controls to counter the risk of improper payments being made to overseas third parties to win business.
Willis pointed out that the FSA did not find that Willis Limited or third parties were engaged in any unlawful acts.
“We will only accept the very best practice in the systems and controls we apply to our operations.
"We recognise the importance of such measures in assuring ourselves and stakeholders that the risk of wrong-doing is designed out of the way we do business,” said Willis Limited chief executive Brendan McManus in a statement.
“When we discovered some of our businesses had not got that right in the past, we were swift to engage with the FSA towards today’s regulatory resolution."
He added that the FSA had recognised Willis's cooperation since the problems were discovered.
"It goes without saying that our compliance framework and its application across the business are now very robust and central to the leadership of the company. We can now move forward, stronger as a result.”
No comments yet