Royal Bank of Scotland has reached agreement with US authorities to settle over breaches of US sanctions against Iran, Cuba, Sudan and Burma.

The
US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control yesterday
announced a $33 million agreement - as part of a combined $100 million
settlement - with the Royal Bank of Scotland
to settle the UK-listed firm’s potential liability for violations of US sanctions
regulations.

The settlement resolves OFAC’s investigation into apparent violations by RBS
of US sanctions programs relating to Iran,
Sudan, Burma and Cuba, the US Department of the
Treasury said in a statement.

From
2005 to 2009, RBS engaged in payment practices that interfered with the
implementation of US economic sanctions by financial institutions in the US,
the statement said.

“Those
practices included removing material references to US-sanctioned locations or
persons from payment messages sent to US financial institutions,” it added.

According to various media reports, RBS said it “acknowledges and deeply regrets these failings.”

The
US Department of the Treasury said RBS is required to put in place and maintain
policies and procedures to minimize the risk of the recurrence of such conduct
in the future. 

“RBS is also required to provide OFAC with copies of
submissions to the Board of Governors relating to the OFAC compliance review
that it will be conducting as part of its settlement with the Board of
Governors,” the statement said.