Citigroup is under investigation by U.S. government agencies over its ties to sanctioned Russian billionaire Suleiman Absaidevich Kerimov, Bloomberg News reported This was disclosed on Thursday, citing a person familiar with the matter.
The Justice Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service are investigating the bank's cooperation with Delaware-based Heritage Trust, which holds assets owned by Mr. Kerimov, the report said.
“Citi is committed to conducting all business operations with full regard to compliance with all applicable laws and regulations,” a Citi spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement. Ta.
“At the same time, we are actively winding down substantially all of our institutional banking operations in Russia, except for operations necessary to meet our remaining legal and regulatory obligations, and are proceeding with the closure of our consumer banking operations in Russia.” .”
As part of the investigation, Bloomberg reports, the company is examining Citigroup's anti-money laundering policies and systems in place to prevent financial crimes.
The Justice Department, FBI and IRS did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
Kerimov faced sanctions from the United States in 2014 and 2018 in response to Russia's actions in Syria and Ukraine.
In 2022, the United States took enforcement action to impose restrictions on Heritage Trust over interests held by the Russian oligarchy.
