Mashreqbank to pay $100 mln to resolve US probe into Sudan sanctions violations -regulator

Four thousand US dollars is counted by a banker counting currency at a bank in Westminster, Colorado on November 3, 2009. REUTERS / Rick Wilking

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WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates’ Mashreqbank PSC (MASB.DU) has agreed to pay $ 100 million in fines in response to an investigation by the US government into violating sanctions on business with the Completion of Sudan, the regulators announced on Tuesday.

Between January 2005 and February 2009, Mashreqbank sent $ 4 billion in payments through financial institutions in the United States, in violation of US sanctions against Sudan under a consent order from the New York State Department of Financial Services.

From 2009 to 2014, the bank’s New York branch processed an additional $ 2.5 million in prohibited payments, the regulator said.

Mashreqbank in New York did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The United States imposed the sanctions in 1997 after Sudan became a state sponsor of terrorism and banned financial institutions from doing business with the government and certain individuals and companies.

The investigation found that the bank directed its employees not to disclose certain information communicated between banks in order to cover up the violations and to avoid triggering warnings or freezing transactions.

The Federal Reserve Board said in a separate statement that it issued an injunction against the bank for having inadequate policies and procedures to ensure compliance with U.S. sanctions laws.

As part of the settlement, Mashreqbank also agreed to report on the status and sustainability of the bank’s compliance program.

Reporting by Chris Prentice Additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel Editing by Bernadette Baum

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/mashreqbank-pay-100-mln-resolve-us-probe-into-sudan-sanctions-violations-2021-11-09/