FMA takes action

Money laundering rules flouted: Heavy fine for RBI

Austria's Financial Market Authority (FMA) has imposed a fine of 2.07 million euros on Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) for deficiencies in its money laundering controls. This was announced by the FMA on Friday. Specifically, it relates to failures in RBI's money laundering and terrorist financing checks at two correspondent banks, it said

RBI intends to contest the administrative penalty order, which is not yet legally binding.

"Know-your-customer principle" not adhered to
RBI explained in a statement that it had already been informed by the FMA in January 2023 that administrative proceedings had been initiated due to possible non-compliance with certain legal requirements regarding the "know-your-customer principle". The proceedings were the result of an on-site inspection by the FMA in the first quarter of 2019.

In the FMA's view, RBI had not sufficiently satisfied itself that two correspondent banks - according to the Reuters report, these are Cuba and Bahrain - had appropriate due diligence measures in place with regard to customers of its own correspondent banking business. In the opinion of the authority, the RBI has therefore not fully complied with its obligations in this regard.

FMA: No criminal offense or even suspicion identified
The FMA has not established that money laundering or any other criminal offense has taken place or that there is any suspicion of a criminal act, the RBI emphasized. The RBI considers the allegations to be unfounded and intends to contest the criminal conviction in its entirety.