Bank of Scotland penalised for breaching Russian sanctions law

Bank of Scotland, a portion of Lloyds Banking Group, has been fined by the UK watchdog implicit an relationship for a sanctioned individual.

The slope was fined £160,000 ($219,268.8) by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), portion of HM Treasury, successful this regard.

Although the watchdog did not sanction the acrophobic individual, respective media sources identified the idiosyncratic to beryllium Dmitrii Ovsiannikov, antecedently politician of Sevastopol successful Russian-occupied Crimea.

Ovsiannikov was aboriginal sentenced to 40 months imprisonment for breaching sanctions and wealth laundering offences.

The good connected the slope was levied for contraventions of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, specifically sections addressing dealings with and entree to funds by sanctioned individuals.

In a connection to Retail Banker International, a spokesperson from Lloyds Banking Group said: “Lloyds Banking Group takes its regulatory responsibilities highly seriously. We acted swiftly and transparently, proactively referring this one-off, isolated substance to OFSI and moving intimately with them throughout.”

According to the regulator, the designated idiosyncratic nether UK sanctions opened an relationship with Halifax successful 2023 utilizing a recently issued British passport.

The passport contained a spelling saltation of the individual's sanction compared to that listed connected OFSI’s Consolidated List of Asset Freeze Targets, including quality changes and a missing mediate name.

These variations included altered characters and an omitted mediate name, which were not recorded arsenic aliases connected OFSI’s screening database astatine the time.

As a result, the bank’s automated systems did not initially emblem the idiosyncratic arsenic sanctioned.

A aboriginal reappraisal nether Politically Exposed Person (PEP) protocols led to the lawsuit being correctly identified and the relationship being restricted connected the aforesaid day, 24 February 2023.

The relationship was opened connected 6 February 2023 and subsequently restricted connected 24 February 2023 aft the lawsuit was recognised arsenic a designated individual.

The idiosyncratic had opened the relationship earlier that period and conducted 24 transactions amounting to £77,383 earlier restrictions were imposed.

Following recognition of the breach, Bank of Scotland notified OFSI and submitted a ceremonial disclosure wrong 2 weeks.

OFSI assessed the substance arsenic “serious,” but not "most serious".

The regulator applied a 50% simplification to the punishment owed to Bank of Scotland’s voluntary disclosure, resulting successful a last good of £160,000.

The spokesperson added: “OFSI has recognised our punctual voluntary disclosure, resulting successful the maximum imaginable simplification of the penalty. We person further strengthened our controls to guarantee we proceed to conscionable the highest standards of hazard absorption and governance.”