Lloyds to pay US fine of 350m in sanctions probe
British-based Lloyds TSB Bank agreed Friday to pay a 350 million dollar penalty to settle a probe that it illegally handled financial transfers for Iran and Sudan in violation of US sanctions.
A Justice Department statement said Lloyd's "has accepted and acknowledged responsibility for its criminal conduct" in a criminal complain filed in US District Court in New York.
"Lloyds agreed to forfeit the funds as part of deferred prosecution agreements with the Department of Justice and the New York County District Attorney's Office," the statement said.
Prosecutors alleged that from 1995 until 2007, Lloyds agents in Britain and Dubai "falsified outgoing US wire transfers that involved countries or persons on US sanctions lists."
According to court documents, "Lloyds deliberately removed material information -- such as customer names, bank names and addresses -- from payment messages so that the wire transfers would pass undetected through filters at US financial institutions.”
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