Citigroup is under investigation by several U.S. government agencies regarding its ties to sanctioned Russian billionaire Suleiman Abusaidovich Kerimov.
According to a source cited by Barron’s, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service have been conducting an investigation for over a year. This inquiry primarily focuses on the services the bank provided to Heritage Trust, which reportedly holds Kerimov’s assets.
A Citigroup spokesperson stated, “Citi is committed to conducting all business with the highest consideration for compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. At the same time, we are actively ending nearly all of our institutional banking business in Russia, except for those operations necessary to fulfill remaining legal and regulatory obligations, while we proceed with the closing of our Russian consumer banking business.”
The investigation is also examining Citi’s compliance framework, including its anti-money laundering and client-vetting processes.