OFSI fines Citibank London £4.7 million over Russia sanctions breaches

LONDON, August 11, 2026 — The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, part of HM Treasury, imposed a £4,732,830.58 penalty on Citibank, N.A., London Branch after concluding that the bank breached UK financial sanctions legislation.

OFSI said Citibank London processed 970 payments with a cumulative value of £19.72 million that it considered sanctions breaches. Most occurred between February and November 2022, as the UK rapidly expanded sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The breaches covered eight matters involving payment processing, correspondent banking and restrictions on accounts linked to designated persons. OFSI attributed many of the failures to weaknesses in systems and controls, delays in reviewing sanctions alerts and human error amid a surge in Russia-related designations.

Among the findings, Citibank London processed hundreds of transactions involving companies owned or controlled by designated Russian persons. OFSI also identified payments involving sanctioned Russian financial institutions including Alfa-Bank, Gazprombank and Credit Bank of Moscow.

OFSI assessed the case at Level 4, its highest severity category, saying the aggregate failures were material and significant and caused “severe and lasting damage” to the aims of the sanctions regime. It said there was no evidence Citibank London intended to breach sanctions or sought to circumvent them.

The regulator calculated a baseline penalty of £7.89 million. Citibank London received a 20% reduction for voluntary disclosure and cooperation and a further 20% settlement discount, reducing the final penalty to £4.73 million.

OFSI said the case highlighted the need for firms with significant sanctions exposure to stress-test compliance systems, understand vulnerabilities before sanctions risks intensify and ensure that reliance on general licences is assessed before transactions are processed.