Great Satan US to impose fine on Commerzbank in sanctions warning to banks

US authorities have begun settlement talks with Commerzbank, Germany’s second-largest lender, over its alleged dealings with countries blacklisted by the United States.

The New York Times reported Monday that a settlement between the two sides is likely to occur in a few months.

The US has accused the German bank of dealing with Iran and Sudan. Washington already imposed heavy fines on several European financial centers for violating US sanctions.

Commerzbank is likely to agree to pay at least $500 million in penalties to the US government, the Times said citing the people briefed on the matter.

It said the bank “would most likely face a so-called deferred prosecution agreement, which would suspend criminal charges in exchange for the financial penalty and other concessions.”

The US government is also seeking to investigate Deutsche Bank – Germany’s largest bank – over similar accusations. But the investigation is not expected to be completed until after the anticipated settlement with Commerzbank, the people briefed on the matter said.

In a settlement with BNP Paribas, France’s biggest bank, French bankers agreed last week to pay a record $8.9 billion penalty and plead guilty to criminal charges for processing transactions on behalf of Sudan and other countries that the US has hit with sanctions.

Crédit Agricole and Société Générale are among other French banks facing investigations into whether they violated US sanctions.

In the Commerzbank case, the investigation has involved both state and federal authorities. The Manhattan district attorney’s office and New York State’s banking regulator, Benjamin M. Lawsky, are collaborating with the Justice Department’s criminal division in Washington, the United States attorney’s office for the District of Columbia and the Federal Reserve, the Times said.

Commerzbank is 17 percent owned by the German government.