Commerzbank to pay USD 1.45 bln on US sanctions

Prosecutors also found that the bank did not comply with US anti-money laundering laws that require detecting and reporting suspicious transactions in a probe stemming from an accounting scandal at Japans Olympus Corp.

US authorities agreed to defer criminal charges against the bank for three years, providing the lender abides by the terms of its agreements.

Commerzbank is the latest in a series of foreign banks that have been penalized for sanctions-related violations in recent years. The bank disclosed that it had set aside USD 1.48 billion for legal costs, related in part to the US probes.

Prosecutors say that beginning in 2002, Commerzbank concealed more than USD 250 million it moved through the US financial system, primarily on behalf of Iranian and Sudanese customers, in violation of US sanctions.