News
Royal Bank of Scotland Will Pay $500 Million for ABN Amro Sanctions, BSA Violations
By Brian Monroe
printThe Royal Bank of Scotland will pay the United States $500 million over Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions violations committed by the now defunct ABN Amro, U.S. officials said Monday. Between 1995 and 2005, ABN Amro systematically removed or changed interbank transaction data on entities blacklisted by the United States, the U.S. Justice Department said. The bank's New York branch also "willfully" ignored Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) requirements between 1998 and 2005, processing over $3.2 billion in potentially illicit transactions, the department said. The fine against Royal Bank of Scotland, which acquired ABN Amro in October 2007 as part of...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Related News
With the polls close and voter turnout expected to be around 97 percent, Scotland's referendum on independence is an event rife with uncertainties. One exception: "yes" will mean rethinking the country's banking sector.
The House Committee on Foreign Affairs Thursday unanimously approved a measure that would penalize foreign banks that offer financial services to Hezbollah, an Iran-backed, Lebanon-based Shiite militant group.
As U.S. officials and bankers debate the merits and drawbacks of an expected $10 billion sanctions settlement with BNP Paribas, their French counterparts are offering a more unified response: outrage.
U.S. officials Tuesday charged a blacklisted Chinese national with using shell companies to maintain accounts at American banks and offered five million dollars for information on his whereabouts.
The West's financial ties to Russia have given countries pause in considering further sanctions, a Roman judge dropped a money laundering case against the former head of the Vatican Bank and more, in this week's news roundup.
In announcing sanctions against Russian politicians and one bank Thursday, U.S. officials made clear that American financial institutions should prepare for more, and soon.
Large banks need to clearly delineate which senior executives are responsible for Bank Secrecy Act compliance violations, the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency said in a speech Monday.
An influential Senate subcommittee will hear testimony on tax evasion through offshore banks, Switzerland agrees to follow automatic data exchange standards and more, in this week's news roundup.
Ongoing negotiations between U.S. officials and France's largest bank that could result in a monetary settlement of more than $1 billion involve violations of sanctions against Iran and Sudan, say sources.
New York State's financial regulator will take a more aggressive tack against bankers and consultants who violate anti-money laundering rules, the agency's superintendent said Monday.
The financial clearing subsidiary of Deutsche Börse AG will pay the U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions enforcer $152 million for holding money in New York-based accounts on behalf of Iran's central bank.
The Royal Bank of Scotland Plc will pay federal and state regulators $100 million to settle charges that it knowingly violated U.S. economic sanctions against Cuba, Myanmar, Sudan and Iran.
A cease-and-desist order disclosed last month against Scotland's largest bank points to compliance troubles that are more widespread than those outlined in a 2010 settlement that cost the institution $500 million, say industry insiders.
An expected fine for Barclays Plc totaling at least $300 million is tied to the bank's removal of data on wires involving Iran, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
The United Kingdom's chief financial regulator fined Royal Bank of Scotland nearly USD $9 million on Tuesday, the agency's largest penalty ever for anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance failures.
A nearly $540 million fine against Credit Suisse AG for facilitating illicit transactions for Iran is sending a message to the financial industry: large sanctions penalties are here to stay.
Credit Suisse AG will pay $536 million as part of an agreement to settle charges that it provided banking services to entities that were the subject of U.S. economic sanctions, according to a statement released by the bank today.
Lloyds TSB Bank Plc. has agreed to pay the United States $350 million to settle charges that it hid wire transfers with blacklisted companies, the largest sanctions-related penalty to date.
Prosecutors are seeking nearly $300 million in penalties, charging that the two foreign-based banks helped to launder the proceeds of a massive securities fraud involving shares of software maker AremisSoft.
The bank, which is based in the Netherlands, said Thursday that it has set aside €365 million in anticipation of the settlement of a Justice Department criminal probe into ABN's dollar clearing activities, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions compliance and other issues.