Revolut CEO Sets Record Straight On ‘Misleading Information’ Amidst Temporary Technical Issues In Malta
Revolut CEO Nikolay Storonsky has commented on recent reports regarding the company’s alleged dark side, also clarifying “what actually happened” in a separate blog post on the digital bank’s website.
Storonsky said he does not believe Revolut failed to meet their legal or regulatory sanctions requirement following reports that the digital bank switched off an automated system designed to stop dubious money transfers.
“A thorough review has been undertaken of the transactions that were processed, which has confirmed that there were no sanctioned transactions,” Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky said in a statement sent to Lovin Malta
The Telegraph has revealed how the switching off of the system meant thousands of illegal transfers may have passed through their banking system between July and September of last year. Such screening systems are used to automatically check customer records against official lists identifying high-risk transactions and customers who are “politically exposed persons”.
“The article refers to a systems enhancement project that we were rolling out in parallel with our existing systems and controls,” Storonsky said. “The more technologically advanced sanctions screening system was just one part of the overall enhancement project. Like any technology company, we always seek to improve our systems. The new systems were not calibrated to a standard that we would expect, so we reverted to our existing process until calibration was complete.”
Storonsky took to a blog post on Revolut’s website to “set the record straight”
“This week, there’s been some misleading information in the media relating to our compliance function,” the Revolut CEO started. “Compliance is, and always has been, a key priority for the company, so I wanted to address these accusations head-on and set the record straight.”
“In July last year, we rolled out a more advanced sanctions screening system in parallel with our existing controls. Like any other technology company, we’re always looking to improve our systems,” he said. “In a nutshell, screening systems are designed to scan inbound and outbound transfers to make sure we do not execute payments to sanctioned individuals and entities.”
Storonsky finished by echoing his statement to Lovin Malta, saying the company had decided to revert to their existing controls during the initial testing stage of their new systems.
Storonsky also addressed claims linking the incident to the resignation of the company’s CFO Peter O’Higgins, saying that he was “absolutely pivotal to [their] success”
“I cannot begin to express my gratitude for his commitment, enthusiasm and accomplishments to date,” the Revolut CEO said of the former CFO.
In a separate statement, O’Higgins said he was “immensely proud” of his work done at the company.
“However, as Revolut begins to scale globally and applies to become a bank in multiple jurisdictions, the time has come to pass the reigns over to someone who has global retail banking experience at this level,” O’Higgins said. “There is no doubt in my mind that Revolut will go on to build one of the largest and most trusted financial institutions in the world.”
Earlier today, Maltese users reported some technical difficulties with some of Revolut’s features
However, around an hour after the newsroom received reports of non-functioning features like ‘Vaults’ and an unresponsive customer care, some of the people who initially reported issues seemed to have now regained access to this feature.
✅ We’re back up and running again! App functionality has been restored and all systems are running smoothly. Thank you for your patience and continual support and apologies for any inconvenience caused.
— Revolut (@RevolutApp) March 1, 2019