In an order unveiled to the public on Friday, January 17, US regulators ordered Rabobank last month to fix problems identified in its anti-money laundering programs after matters about compliance were identified in the Dutch bank, Reuters reported.
A consent order was entered into in December between the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency or OCC and Rabobank. The order was part of the list of enforcement actions against the lender made public on Friday, the report said. No fines were included in the order given by the OCC.
Last year, watchdogs from the US and Europe levied penalties amounting to $1 billion to Rabobank for fixing benchmark interest rates. The scandal resulted to several top executives stepping down from their posts. Criminal charges were filed against three former traders of the bank this week, the report said.
A BBC report on January 14, 2014 said the three Rabobank traders for conspiring to rig the Yen Libor benchmark interest rate since 2006 were Paul Robson, Paul Thompson and Tetsuya Motomura. Charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud were lodged against them in a court in Manhattan which could mean a 30-year prison time if they get convicted.
In the past few years, regulators in the US have prioritized their anti-money laundering efforts, requiring almost all major financial institutions to enhance its monitoring of illicit flows by its clients. Last week, JPMorgan Chase & Co assented to enhancing its compliance efforts after it was compelled to pay US regulators $2 billion about matters concerning its links with Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff, Reuters reported.
Rabobank was also directed by the OCC to form a compliance committee as well as specify the steps it will take to straighten up its anti-money laundering program. This will be evaluated by regulators. The OCC also ordered the lender to identify the locations and products that provide a money-laundering risk to Rabobank, the report said.
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