UAE bank fined $40m

NEW York state financial regulators has fined the Dubaibased Mashreqbank $40 million, saying it cleared millions of high-risk transactions with scant safeguards against money laundering and terrorism finance.

The bank’s New York branch kept shoddy records and had internal controls that were not sufficient to prevent violations of US sanctions, according to the New York Department of Financial Services.

Mashreqbank is the UAE’s oldest and largest lender, with branches across the Middle East and Asia.