The UK’s financial sanctions regulator has fined Citibank £4.7 million ($6.35 million) after identifying hundreds of payments that breached restrictions imposed on Russia.
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) found 970 payments, totalling £19.7 million, that violated UK sanctions. Most of the breaches occurred between February and November 2022, as banks and other financial institutions adjusted to rapidly changing restrictions on Russia. Some of the payments involved Russian state-owned shipping company PJSC Sovcomflot and sanctioned financial institutions, including Alfa-Bank, Gazprombank and Credit Bank of Moscow.
OFSI said there was no evidence that Citibank deliberately attempted to circumvent sanctions. However, the regulator concluded that the bank had significant operational weaknesses that allowed prohibited transactions to be processed through its London operations. Citibank voluntarily disclosed most of the transactions and cooperated with the investigation. OFSI took the bank’s cooperation into account when determining the penalty.
The case highlights the compliance challenges faced by global financial institutions following the introduction of extensive sanctions against Russia in 2022. Banks were required to rapidly update screening systems, internal procedures and controls as governments repeatedly expanded and amended the restrictions. Citibank has since strengthened its sanctions-compliance systems. The bank has also continued to reduce its exposure to Russia. In 2025, it completed the sale of its Russian subsidiary, AO Citibank, to Renaissance Capital. The fine is another indication that UK regulators expect financial institutions to maintain effective systems for identifying and blocking sanctioned transactions, even when sanctions regimes are complex and subject to frequent changes.