Italian global banking and financial services company UniCredit agreed to pay $1.3 billion to US authorities to settle fines for violation of US sanctions on Iran and other countries. In addition, its German subsidiary UniCredit Bank pleaded guilty to illegally transferring hundreds of millions of dollars through the US financial system on behalf of other entities, US Department of Justice and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr said.
The six-year investigation finally came to an end last week. It appears that the settlement is associated with violations targeting proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and global terrorism, US Department of Treasury said.
The bank said its units’ penalties were covered by provisions already made. Because the bank had booked the provisions before the settlement, it will have $339 million after tax as first quarter additional profits, Reuters reports.
UniCredit along with its two subsidiaries UniCredit Bank and Bank Austria have jointly agreed to cooperate with parallel investigations conducted by the US Department of Treasury, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, and the New York Department of Financial Services.