British bank slapped with $164 million fine for unsafe, unsound practices in sanctions controls

A British bank was slapped with a $164 million fine for unsafe and unsound practices related to inadequate sanctions controls and failure to disclose sanctions risks, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday.

In a release, the Fed said it had fined Standard Chartered plc and Standard Chartered Bank of London for the inadequacies and failures. The firm is also required, the Fed said, to improve its U.S. law compliance program and to strengthen its management oversight and perform annual risk-management assessments for high-risk operations.

The Fed said that Standard Chartered is restricted from re-employing any individuals involved in the violations.

This is the second time in at least the last seven years the firm has faced fines from the Fed; in 2012, the agency said, the firm was fined for unrelated violations that occurred prior to the period covered by the action announced Tuesday.

The Fed’s fines are but a small part of the overall fines the firm faces, according to the Fed, of $1.1 billion that were assessed by the Fed and other U.S. and U.K. agencies. Those agencies are: the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the New York County District Attorney’s Office, the New York State Department of Financial Services, and the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority.

Federal Reserve Board fines Standard Chartered $164 million for firm’s unsafe and unsound practices relating to inadequate sanctions controls and failure to disclose sanctions risks to the Federal Reserve