Citigroup fined $8 million in Britain for Russia sanctions breaches
Most of the breaches occurred in the months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Citibank faces a £4.7 million fine after regulators discovered it violated the UK sanctions on Russia. The financial giant's London branch processed £19.7 million in illicit transactions across 970 payments, according to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI). One instance involved Citi failing to freeze 24 commercial bank accounts of 11 companies controlled by a single designated Russian individual.
OFSI cited Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a strain on the bank's alert handling and investigation processes, leading to temporary compliance guidance changes in May 2022. Citi's fine was reduced to £4.7 million following a 20% settlement discount for cooperation, but the government agency noted instances of delayed reporting frozen assets by up to 518 days.
A Citi spokesperson expressed satisfaction with the conclusion of the matter, emphasizing the company's commitment to sanctions compliance. The incident primarily stemmed from Citi's screening software failing to generate alerts for PAO Sovcomflot due to the unrecognized Russian corporate prefix. OFSI rated the case as 'high' severity with 'aggravating' factors, including harm to UK foreign policy objectives.
Over 20 companies faced sanctions breaches since 2019, with Deutsche Bank receiving a £160,000 fine and a Lloyds subsidiary fined for sanctions breaches.
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