U.S. Imposes $24 Million Civil Penalty on Arab Bank PLC for Bank Secrecy Act Failures
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced that it has imposed a $24 million civil penalty on the New York branch of Jordan-based Arab Bank, PLC, for systemic Bank Secrecy Act failures. The penalty is the largest penalty imposed on a bank by the Treasury Department since the $25 million imposed on Riggs Bank in 2004 after it was discovered that Riggs had conducted business with officials in Equatorial Guinea former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.
After the penalty was announced, Arab Bank accused U.S regulators of enforcing "confusing and constantly evolving" money-laundering laws and complaining that the $24 million payment was "unreasonably high."
Details on the alleged violations can be found at the following link: www.fincen.gov/arab081705.pdf.
Labels: FinCen
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