Myanmar Named in Bank of Tokyo's $250 Million Laundering Conviction

Japan’s Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) has been fined US$250,000 million by the state of New York for illicit laundering transactions with countries under sanctions, including Myanmar.

The transactions are thought to total over $100 billion between 2002 and 2007. A press release from New York’s Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) suggests that there were up to 28,000 individual illegal transactions. Other sanctioned countries mentioned in the violations include Iran and Sudan.

BTMU bank employees had been routinely removing information from transfers, primarily the identities of blacklisted countries, according to the NYDFS.

The statement showed that BTMU had handed written instructions to employees asking them to “omit” sensitive information “in order to avoid freezing of funds.” No information has been released on just how much of the $100 billion worth of transactions were funneled in Myanmar.

According to a statement released by BTMU, the illicit activity was identified in 2007, and the bank has since taken steps to improve their...