Bank of Guam OFAC Settlement: $27K (2013)

On May 18, 2010, Bank of Guam originated a $2,265 wire transfer on behalf of a customer, destined for a trading company in the United Arab Emirates. The payment was for delivery charges related to the shipment of furniture and other items to Iran. Another U.S. financial institution rejected the transaction due to a reference to Iran in the originator to beneficiary section of the payment message. The same customer resubmitted the payment on June 4, 2010, after consulting with a Bank of Guam employee who advised the customer to amend the payment message in a manner that removed the reference to Iran. The second payment was successfully processed. In both instances, Bank of Guam may have violated the prohibition against engaging "in any transaction…related to…goods, technology, or services for exportation, reexportation, sale or supply, directly or indirectly, to Iran or the Government of Iran," 31 C.F.R. § 560.206, by originating the wire transfers.

The total base penalty amount for the two apparent violations was $20,000. Bank of Guam did not voluntarily self-disclose the apparent violations, and OFAC determined the case was non-egregious. The settlement amount of $27,000 reflects OFAC's consideration of facts and circumstances pursuant to the General Factors under OFAC's Economic Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines, 31 C.F.R. part 501, app. A. Mitigation was extended because Bank of Guam had not received a penalty notice or a Finding of Violation from OFAC in the five years preceding the date of the transactions. The settlement amount reflects an aggravation to the base penalty because Bank of Guam staff acted recklessly by failing to exercise caution or care in processing a funds transfer after becoming aware of the purpose of the payment, and actually instructed the bank's customer to resubmit the payment without a reference to Iran in the payment details, thereby concealing the sanctioned interest in the transaction. Such conduct undermined the integrity of the U.S. sanctions program, prevented Bank of Guam's correspondent from assessing the permissibility of the payment, and could have resulted in significant sanctions harm.

At the time of the transactions, Bank of Guam employees apparently lacked an understanding of the bank's U.S. sanctions obligations. The conduct at issue — instructing a customer to remove a reference to Iran from a payment message after another institution had already rejected it on sanctions grounds — undermined the integrity of the U.S. sanctions program and prevented Bank of Guam's correspondent from assessing the permissibility of the payment.

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