The District Court of Rotterdam has upheld fines of €170,000 imposed by the Dutch National Bank on a payment services provider for breaches of Dutch sanctions law and AML rules.
The appeal was largely based on arguments that the internal compliance function had adequately performed its function. The court was highly critical of this argument, noting the lack of due diligence and periodic training.
It has been announced that the French authorities have charged Lafarge-Holcim, its Syrian subsidiary with offences including breaching EU anti-terrorism sanctions.
The companies were also charged with crimes against humanity.
Eight individuals, including senior management, had earlier been charged (see here).
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has today issued a Final Notice against Canara Bank.
The bank was fined £896,100 and prevented from accepting deposits from new customers for 147 days.
The fine relates to inadequacies in the bank’s KYC compliance including sanctions screening. The bank cooperated with the FCA and qualified for a 30% discount on the fine.
The District Court in the Hague has convicted an individual for the making of unauthorised financial transfers to/from Iran in the years 2013 and 2014 of around €92,000.
The person was convicted but no sentence imposed on mental health grounds, while noting that ordinarily a conviction would result in a lengthy custodial sentence.
Various sums seized as part of the investigation were returned to the defendant as the prosecution had not proven that these sums related to particular criminal activity.
OFSI has published its Annual Report for 2017-2018. In it OFSI states that they received 122 reports of suspected breaches of financial sanctions with a reported value of £1.35 billion.
OFSI has also stated that it expects to levy its first fines during 2018-2019 and that the “majority of cases… will be resolved by enforcement activity short of a penalty”.
The French authorities have charged former Lafarge-Holcim CEOs, Eric Olsen and Bruno Lafont as well former deputy managing director Christian Herrault, along with 5 other individuals on suspicion of making payments in breach of EU sanctions to terrorist groups in Syria, and crimes against humanity.
The French authorities have conducted raids on the Paris offices of Lafarge-Holcim as part of the ongoing investigation into payments alleged to have been made in breach of the EU’s terrorist sanctions.
Lafarge-Holcim has confirmed it is cooperating with the investigation.
In 2015 the Dutch National Bank had imposed a financial penalty of €125,000 on an unnamed payment services provider for failings in relation to sanctions and PEP screening as part of a review by the bank.
The payment services provider appealed the decision.
On appeal to the District Court of Rotterdam the penalty was upheld but the fine reduced to €100,000.
The National Bank had originally calculated the fine as €550,000 which was then reduced due to the financial condition and size of the defendant.
The District Court of East Brabant has convicted an individual for breaches of the EU’s Iran sanctions.
The defendant had traded for 2 years with a designated Iranian entity. The unspecified goods had been shipped via intermediary countries Turkey and Dubai.
He was sentenced to 16 months in jail, with a further 4 months suspended subject to a two-year probation period. He was also fined €500,000. The fine was on the individual personally and not on the company through which he traded.
