UK fines Citibank £5m for processing £19.7m in Russia-sanctioned payments

OFSI fined Citibank's London branch for processing 970 payments totaling £19.7m in violation of UK Russia sanctions, including a failure to freeze assets. The fine signals continued enforcement of sanctions against Russia and highlights compliance gaps at major Western banks. The incident underscores the UK's active monitoring of financial institutions for sanctions evasion.