UK bank fined for breaking Russia sanctions | Money News

Bank of Scotland (BoS) has been fined by a regulator for breaking sanctions related to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) said ‌a penalty of £160,000 had been imposed over financial transactions dating back to 2023.

The body said the bank processed 24 ​payments in February that year totalling about £77,000 to and from a personal ‌current account ⁠held by a UK-designated ‌person.

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That person was not identified.

OFSI, which oversees compliance with all sanctions levied against Russia on behalf of the UK government, said it had concluded that the ​bank breached prohibitions on dealing with, and making funds available to, a sanctioned person.

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Bank of Scotland said it had flagged the issue to the UK authorities the following month.

A spokesperson for its parent firm responded: “Lloyds Banking Group takes its regulatory responsibilities extremely seriously.

“We acted swiftly and transparently, proactively referring this one-off, isolated matter to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation and working closely with them throughout.

“OFSI has recognised our prompt voluntary disclosure, resulting in the maximum possible reduction of the penalty.

“We have further strengthened our controls to ensure we continue to meet the highest standards of risk management and governance.”