Category: Regulatory Fines

DNB ASA, Norway’s largest financial services group, will pay a fine of NOK 400 million ($48.1 million) for failing to adhere to Norwegian Anti-Money Laundering Act standards. The Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway (Finanstilsynet) imposed the fine following an inspection of DNB’s anti-money laundering (AML) policies and procedures. Additionally, a separate investigation was conducted into its handling of customer accounts for Icelandic fisheries company Samherji. “The inspection revealed serious breaches in the bank’s compliance with the Anti-Money Laundering Act,” Finanstilsynet announced Monday in a press release. DNB announced last year the fine was imminent. The details: Finanstilsynet said it found…

Unnamed company fined for a total of eight violations in Ministry of Economy inspection campaign A gold trader in Dubai has been fined a total of Dh1.35 million ($367,597) for eight separate breaches of laws governing money laundering and terrorism financing. The unnamed company was fined as part of the Ministry of Economy’s extensive inspection campaign into Designated Non-Financial Business and Professions (DNFBPs). DNFBPs are a group of non-financial businesses governed by money laundering rules, and include precious metals dealers, property brokers, auditors and corporate services providers that offer company formation services. “Three companies belonging to the group were issued…

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, announced in January 2021 that Capital One would be required to pay a hefty $390 million penalty for AML violations under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). The bank admitted to wilfully failing to implement and maintain effective AML procedures to guard against money laundering, also failing to file thousands of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) and Currency Transactions Reports (CTRs) with respect to its Cash Checking Group business unit. The violations occurred from (at least) 2008 – 2014, seeing millions of dollars in suspicious transactions go unreported and therefore laundered through the bank into…

Three banking firms have been fined more than £700,000 for breaching anti-money laundering regulations. A Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) investigation found the SGKH entities had failed to show “adequate risk management systems in place”. It included missing minutes from board meetings and a failure to notify the JFSC when rules were breached. The commission said it intended the fines to act as “a deterrent for all regulated businesses”. SGKH Bank, SGKH Trust and SGKH Corporate provide wealth management services from Jersey and form a sub-group of the UK regulated SG Kleinwort Hambros Bank. Between 1 January 2018 and May…

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has levied a fine of $165,000 against Ashish Bhandari – a former relationship manager with a private bank in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) – due to his involvement in breaches of anti-money laundering regulations. The authority has also restricted him from performing any function in connection with the provision of financial services in or from the DIFC. On September 17, 2020, the DFSA decided to take enforcement action against Bhandari for being knowingly involved in breaches of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) legislation from 2011 to 2013 and for obstructing the DFSA in 2017 and…

Malaysian banking group AMMB Holdings Berhad (AmBank) said on Friday it will pay the government 2.83 billion ringgit ($699 million) to settle claims linked to a massive financial scandal at state fund 1MDB, a hefty payment that is expected to have a material impact on the group’s earnings. AmBank Group has been under scrutiny over its role in the alleged theft of $4.5 billion from 1Malaysia Development Berhad, a state fund former prime minister Najib Razak set up in 2009. Last year, Najib was found guilty of corruption and money laundering over the transfer of millions of dollars linked to…