Will ING Bank $619m fine stop banks from circumventing regulatory controls?
Violation of US sanctions and the deliberate deletion of thousands of transaction records have seen Dutch Bank ING paying a record amount in settlement. June 14, 2012 | Timothy ShimDutch bank ING has agreed to pay $619 million to settle allegations levelled against it by the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The settlement is the largest OFAC has encountered to date, and at the same time settles cases with the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, the Department of Justice's National Security Division, the Department of Justice's Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section and the New York County District Attorney’s Office. The OFAC has been investigating ING Bank’s intentional manipulation and deletion of information about US parties in more than 20,000 financial and trade transactions routed through third-party banks between 2002 and 2007. The sanction violations included those performed on behalf of Iran, Sudan, and Libya, amongst others, involving the movement of more than $1.6 billion. “Investigations of financial institutions, businesses, and individuals who violate US sanctions by misusing banks in New York are vitally important to national security and the integrity of our banking system,” said New York county district attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. ING has so far planned to pay for the fine through its first quarter earnings, stating that internal investigations were underway even before US authorities started querying them. Jan Hommen, chief executive officer of ING Bank's parent company ING Group called the violations serious and unacceptable, claiming that the government's filings "describe a very different ING than the company we're all working so hard for today." According to David Millar, risk consultant, trainer and former COO at global risk management association, PRMIA, if banks deliberately set out to break the rules, at board or the senior management’s initiative, there is little that regulators can do other than fine the, jail some or close the bank down (but then only if caught). “Regulators will say that these heavier penalties will dis... Please login to read the complete article. If you already have an account, you can login now or subscribe/register.
Categories: Regulation, Risk and Regulationriskregulation,Risk and Regulation, Regulation,Risk and Regulation, Keywords:Anti Money Laundering, ING Bank, Financial Ecosystem, Transparency, US Treasury Anti Money Laundering, ING Bank, Financial Ecosystem, Transparency, US Treasury
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