Barclays Bank has been fined £42 million by the UK’s financial watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), for lapses in its money laundering risk management.

• The majority of the fine, £39.3 million, was related to Barclays' dealings with Stunt & Co, which was linked to a £46.8 million money laundering operation.
• A principal partner of WealthTek, another client of Barclays, has been charged with financial crimes including money laundering.
• The FCA marked this as Barclays' third fine for financial crime control failures, with previous penalties of £783,800 in 2022 and £72 million in 2015.

Lee Jae-yong, the de facto head of Samsung, has been cleared of fraud charges by South Korea’s top court, concluding a lengthy legal battle over a controversial merger.

• Final verdict: The Supreme Court upheld a not guilty verdict after Lee was acquitted in two earlier trials.
• Charges dismissed: Lee faced accusations of using stock and accounting fraud in a merger deal valued at around $8 billion.
• Context: This decision comes amid ongoing scrutiny of corporate governance in South Korea's powerful chaebols.