By Nicole Bode
DNAinfo Senior Editor
MANHATTAN — International banking giant Barclay’s will have to forfeit $298 million to the U.S. after admitting that it concealed illegal transfers of money on behalf of customers from rogue states including Iran, Cuba, Libya and the Sudan.
Barclays was charged Monday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Trading with the Enemy Act. The bank violated the acts when it did business with the "rogue" countries, which are sanctioned by the U.S.
The case was jointly investigated by the FBI and the Manhattan District Attorneys office.
According to Justice Department, the London-based company routinely helped their customers avoid scrutiny by the U.S. government for more than a decade by removing any evidence of the source of the funds they were helping to move through the U.S. financial system.
“Criminal activity of the type we found at Barclays does more than deceive our financial institutions, it threatens the security of our country,” District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said in a statement.
The company agreed to forfeit half of the $298 Million in sanctioned funds to the U.S. and the other half to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in exchange for deferred prosecution, the DOJ said.
Barclays released a statement confirming that they reached the settlement Thursday, and added, “Barclays is committed to the highest levels of integrity and regulatory compliance across all of its operations.”
