Unicredit’s £1bn US fine

ITALIAN bank Unicredit has been fined £1bn for doing illegal business with Iran.

The lender’s German arm Hypovereinsbank worked with clients in Iran, Cuba, Libya and the Sudan between 2002 and 2011, despite US sanctions.

Staff hid suspicious transactions from computer systems, say prosecutors. Linda Lacewell, of the New York Department of Financial Services, said: ‘It prioritised profit over compliance and security by engaging in billions of dollars of transactions with clients from sanctioned nations, and then working to cover its tracks.’ Fifteen banks have been fined for busting sanctions.