Wells Fargo to pay $97 million to compensate for sanctions failures

During the investigation, federal authorities found that Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) had improperly supervised its compliance risks, thus enabling the apparent violation of U.S. sanctions against Iran, Syria, and Sudan and ordering the bank to pay a fine of approximately $97.8 million.

‍

The Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) have alleged that the bank's lack of oversight led it to violate United States sanctions by providing a trade finance platform to a foreign bank that used it to process $532 million in prohibited transactions because of its deficiency in oversight.

‍

A fine of $67.8 million was handed down by the Fed, while a fine of $30 million was handed down by OFAC for the bank's inability to monitor its compliance risks during the period from 2010 to 2015.

‍

“We are pleased to be able to resolve this legacy matter related to conducting dating back to 2015, which Wells Fargo voluntarily self-reported and in full cooperation with OFAC and the Federal Reserve Board in order to resolve,” a Wells Fargo spokesperson said in a statement.

‍

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said in a release that Wells Fargo and Wachovia Bank supplied a European bank with software starting in 2008 which allowed the company to process more than 124 transactions that involved sanctioned individuals or jurisdictions.

‍

Wells Fargo was hit with a $1 billion civil penalty by the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in December as part of a $3.7 billion settlement agreement to settle allegations that the bank mismanaged car loans, mortgages, and bank accounts in a widespread manner.