Citigroup probed over ties to Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov: report

Citigroup is being probed by US government agencies over its ties to sanctioned Russian billionaire Suleiman Abusaidovich Kerimov, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service are probing the bank’s work with Delaware-based Heritage Trust, which holds assets owned by Kerimov, the report said.

“Citi is committed to conducting all business with the highest consideration for compliance with all applicable laws and regulations,” a Citi spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement.

“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.”

A part of the investigation is looking into Citigroup’s anti-money laundering policies and systems in place to prevent financial crimes, the Bloomberg report said.

The DOJ, the FBI, and the IRS did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

Kerimov was sanctioned by the US in 2014 and 2018 in response to Russia’s actions in Syria and Ukraine.

The United States in 2022 had taken enforcement action imposing restrictions against Heritage Trust over interests held by the Russian oligarch.