Top Japanese bank to pay $315M to NY regulators for laundering $100B, violating sanctions

New York regulators say Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ will pay $315 million and two of its employees will be sanctioned for misleading the state about bank transactions that violated U.S. economic sanctions against several countries, including Iran, Sudan and Myanmar.

The state's Department of Financial Services says its yearlong investigation showed employees pressured the bank's consultant, PricewaterhouseCoopers, into removing key warnings to regulators in a report the bank submitted about the extent of illicit conduct.

In June 2013, Bank of Tokyo agreed to pay $250 million and have a year of special monitoring for having handled about 28,000 U.S. dollar transactions totaling about $100 billion through its New York operation between 2002 and 2007.

Two former bank compliance employees are banned from business involving any New York-regulated bank.

Calls to the bank were not immediately returned.