UK sanctions authorities have penalised Deutsche Bank’s London branch £165,000 ($221,154) after the lender handled payments linked to a sanctioned Russian-owned business.
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, part of HM Treasury, said the case concerned payments made in 2022 for a client to Okko, a Russian video streaming platform owned by JSC New Opportunities, an entity under UK sanctions
The bank had partly depended on an external provider for sanctions screening at the time and that the arrangement failed to identify problems connected to Okko’s ownership. The regulator said: “[Deutsche] remained ultimately responsible for ensuring it acts in compliance with financial sanctions when processing payments on behalf of its customers.” The penalty comes shortly after Deutsche referred itself to EU authorities over possible breaches of sanctions rules involving Russian clients. The bank found instances in its retail division where deposits above €100,000 had been accepted from people covered by EU sanctions restrictions.
Deutsche’s disclosure of the Okko transactions to OFSI meant it received a reduction in the penalty. In March, OFSI also imposed a fine on Apple’s European subsidiary over payments involving Okko, reported Financial Times. Okko belonged to Sberbank, Russia’s biggest bank, from August 2018 until May 2022.