UK fines Bank of Scotland for breaching Russia sanctions
Last week, a British government agency announced that it had imposed a £160,000 ($218,640.00) fine on the Bank of Scotland, a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group, for violating financial sanctions related to Russia.
In February 2023, the bank processed 24 transactions amounting to approximately £77,000 to and from an account belonging to a person designated by the UK government, according to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI). The agency, which is responsible for enforcing financial sanctions, determined that the bank contravened regulations concerning dealings with and making funds available to sanctioned individuals.
Notably, the watchdog indicated that Lloyds proactively reported these transactions on behalf of the Bank of Scotland in March 2023, resulting in a 50% reduction in the fine due to the timely disclosure.
Illicit crypto flows surge to record $158bn
$158 billion in digital tokens was transferred to crypto wallets linked to criminals in the past year, highlighting the troubling trend of the rapidly expanding digital assets sector being increasingly harnessed for illicit activities around the world.
This figure represents a remarkable 145% increase over 2024, according to blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs. Notably, the volume of criminal transactions had been declining for three consecutive years prior to this. TRM attributes this sudden surge to heightened sanctions, greater involvement of nation-state actors in the cryptocurrency sphere, and advancements in blockchain tracking technology.
This development coincides with the growing acceptance of the once-niche cryptocurrency industry by traditional financial institutions, eager to capitalize on the substantial price increases and rising trading volumes in recent years.
Saxo Bank Fined Nearly $50 Million in Denmark, Its Largest Penalty in Recent Years
Saxo Bank is facing an administrative penalty of DKK 313,000,000 ($49.7 million) imposed by Denmark’s financial regulator due to deficiencies in its anti-money laundering measures in its institutional dealings. The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority issued this fine after determining that Saxo Bank had violated regulations from 2021 to 2023.
The investigation revealed that the bank did not gather adequate information regarding the purposes and intended nature of certain customer relationships, particularly those associated with white-label partners. Through the white-label model, Saxo Bank offers its trading platform to partner institutions, allowing their clients access to markets via Saxo’s infrastructure.
While the FSA did not find specific instances or evidence of money laundering, it determined that systemic control failures warranted a significant response, framing the fine as a consequence of risk-management shortcomings rather than a direct indication of criminal conduct.
