The US Treasury has fined UBS a record $125mn for failing to implement adequate anti-money laundering (AML) controls. This penalty comes despite similar shortcomings that led to a $14.5mn fine in 2018. UBS Financial Services, the bank's US subsidiary, did not effectively monitor foreign currency transactions exceeding $10bn and failed to properly review high-risk customers.

FinCEN director Andrea Gacki stated that this "historic action" sends a message to "recidivist financial institutions." UBS admitted to "wilfully violating" the Bank Secrecy Act, including inadequate monitoring and due diligence on clients with ties to high-risk jurisdictions and illicit activities. The fines also include penalties from the SEC, CFTC, and FINRA.

The lax controls persisted between January 2019 and June 2023, with a flawed monitoring system using an Excel spreadsheet missing hundreds of alerts. Examples cited include a client with Russian ties classified as low-risk despite public information linking him to sanctioned individuals, and transactions for a Russian billionaire with ties to Vladimir Putin that appeared to breach UBS's own controls. UBS has stated that this brings "closure to this legacy matter" and that significant investments have been made to strengthen its AML program.