Royal Bank of Scotland settles Iran sanctions claim

WASHINGTON — Royal Bank of Scotland has agreed to pay $100 million to settle claims by US and New York state regulators that it violated US sanctions against Iran and other countries.

The Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve and the office of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the settlement Wednesday with the bank, which is 80 percent owned by the British government.

It covers alleged violations of US sanctions against Iran, Sudan, Burma and Cuba from 2005 to 2009. The regulators said RBS channeled about $523 million in transactions to other banks for clients from those countries and concealed the clients’ identities in the paperwork.

RBS said in a statement it has cooperated fully with the regulators in their investigation “and deeply regrets these failings.”

The bank said it has begun an extensive plan to correct shortcomings in its compliance with sanctions rules.

RBS is paying $50 million to the Fed and $50 million to New York state. A $33 million Treasury penalty was covered by the Fed payment.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.