WASHINGTON—Sanctions violations accounted for 56% of all fines handed out by regulators around the world in the past 10 years, a new study shows.
The U.S. is by far the most financially punitive regulator, according to compliance services provider Fenergo. The U.S. accounted for 91% in value of the $26 billion in penalties levied since 2008 for anti-money laundering, sanctions and know-your-customer breaches, the firm found, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
U.S. regulators were especially active in Europe, where banks incurred nearly five times as much in U.S. fines as their American peers, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Fenergo. The Nordics, on the other hand, fined more of their domestic banks than international banks.
Penalties for violations of anti-money laundering controls were more prevalent in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, with the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority the most active enforcer in Europe. European regulators imposed 83 fines with financial penalties worth $1.7 billion in the past ten years, the Journal stated.
But regulators in Asia and the Middle East are becoming more active in their enforcement activities, Fenergo, told the Journal. Those in Asia, Pacific, Australia and New Zealand levied $609 million in fines for poor compliance. In the Middle East, financial penalties amounted to $9.5 million in the last decade.