|
 After failing to land high-profile criminal cases stemming from
the 2008-09 financial crisis, U.S. authorities have focused on other
types of criminal activity within the financial industry, including
money laundering, tax evasion and sanctions violations.
Sources told Reuters earlier this month that Commerzbank was nearing
a settlement with U.S. authorities over its dealings with Iran and
other countries under U.S. sanctions. One person said it was
expected to pay about $650 million.
The Manhattan U.S. attorney is now investigating allegations
Commerzbank had lax controls for detecting and preventing money
laundering, the WSJ reported, citing unnamed sources briefed on the
investigation.
It said U.S. officials were now considering whether to resolve the
sanctions probe and the money laundering investigation in one
settlement, which could delay a solution and add hundreds of
millions of dollars to the potential penalties Commerzbank could
pay.
Commerzbank declined comment.
[to top of second column] |
A number of banks have already been penalized over sanctions and
money laundering infringements. French bank BNP Paribas pleaded
guilty earlier this year to two criminal charges and agreed to pay
almost $9 billion to resolve accusations it violated U.S. sanctions
against Sudan, Cuba and Iran.
(Reporting by Krishna Chaithanya in Bangalore; Additional reporting
by Jonathan Gould in Frankfurt; Editing by Maria Sheahan and David
Holmes)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
