ING Bank will pay $619m to settle charges it secretly moved billions of dollars through the US financial system on behalf of Cuban and Iranian customers in violation of US sanctions.

ING intentionally deleted information about thousands of transactions that would have linked the money to sanctioned parties in Cuba and Iran between 2002 and 2007, the US Treasury Department said on Tuesday, reports the Washington Herald.
The fine, a record for US sanctions violations, includes agreements that shield ING from further action by the Department of Justice.
The bank set aside money from its first-quarter earnings to cover the fine, ING said in a statement.
CEO Jan Hommen called the violations ‘serious and unacceptable’, says the paper. The bank has strengthened global risk controls since the illegal activity became known.