On the 29th September, Market Watch reported that the Manhattan U.S. attorney is investigating Commerzbank AG for alleged violations of money-laundering laws, potentially throwing a wrench in efforts by Germany’s second-largest bank to settle separate allegations that it violated sanctions by doing business with Iran and Sudan.

The sanctions probe is more advanced, and Commerzbank had been closing in on a deal with U.S. and state officials that could have required the bank to pay more than $600 million, according to people briefed on the investigation. The pact was on track to be finalized by the end of September, the people said.

But federal prosecutors in Manhattan are now investigating allegations Commerzbank had lax controls for detecting and preventing money laundering, and the new probe has in recent days emerged as a sticking point for the settlement, according to these people.

A Commerzbank spokeswoman declined to comment.

U.S. officials are considering whether to resolve the two investigations into the German bank in one settlement, a move that could both delay a resolution and add hundreds of millions of dollars to the potential penalties Commerzbank could pay, the people briefed on the matter said.

Source: Market Watch