Lloyds TSB agrees to pay fine of $350m for sanctions help – Lloyds TSB has agreed to pay $350m (£231m) to the US government for helping customers get around American sanctions on dealing with Libya, Sudan and Iran.
The bank, which the British government will shortly own a 43pc stake in, agreed to settle the claims fine after admitting responsibility for criminal conduct.
The US Department of Justice alleged that dating back to 1995, Lloyds falsified wire transfers involving countries or individuals on the US sanctions list.
In effect, the bank removed customer information so that transfers would pass undetected through sanction-focused filters at US banks, violating US federal law aimed at starving terrorists of money in certain countries.
Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said: “The Iranian banks have money on deposit in London with Lloyds. They were having Lloyds send the money to the US and beyond and stripping the identification.”
In a statement, Lloyds TSB noted that it set aside £180m last year pending the settlement, and said that it “does not anticipate any further enforcement actions.”
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