Company: BCDRF
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0000891478-25-000054
Chunk: 1052

Company: Banco Santander, S.A.
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form: 20-F
Chunk 1052
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 of clients, identify and verify the beneficial owners of certain legal entity clients, conduct ongoing customer due

diligence, monitor for and report suspicious transactions, report on cash transactions exceeding specified thresholds, and respond to requests for information by regulatory authorities and law enforcement agencies. Santander Bank is subject to the Bank Secrecy Act and therefore is required to maintain a system of internal controls, provide its employees with AML training, designate an AML compliance officer and undergo an annual, independent audit to assess the effectiveness of its AML program. Santander Bank has implemented policies, procedures and internal controls that are designed to comply with its US AML requirements.

US bank regulators are focusing their examinations on AML compliance, and we will continue to monitor and augment, where necessary, our (including our US branches’ and subsidiaries’) AML compliance programs. Failures to comply with applicable US AML laws and regulations could have severe legal and reputational consequences, including significant civil monetary and criminal penalties and termination of US banking licenses. In addition, US regulators have taken actions against non-US bank holding companies requiring them to improve their oversight of their US subsidiaries’ Bank Secrecy Act programs and compliance. Further, US federal banking agencies are required, when reviewing bank and bank holding company acquisition or merger applications, to take into account the effectiveness of the AML compliance record of the applicant.

US sanctions

OFAC is responsible for administering economic sanctions imposed against designated foreign countries, governments, individuals and entities pursuant to various Executive Orders, statutes and regulations. OFAC-administered sanctions take many different forms. For example, sanctions may include: (1) restrictions on US persons’ trade with or investment in a sanctioned country, including prohibitions against direct or indirect imports from and exports to a sanctioned country and prohibitions on US persons engaging in financial transactions relating to, making investments in, or providing investment-related advice or assistance to, a sanctioned country; and (2) blocking of assets of targeted governments or 'specially designated nationals,' by prohibiting transfers of property subject to US jurisdiction, including property in the possession or control of US persons. Blocked assets, such as property and bank deposits, cannot be paid out, withdrawn, set off or transferred in any manner without a license from OFAC. In addition, non-US persons can be liable for 'causing' a sanctions violation by a US person or can violate US sanctions by exporting services from the United States to a sanctions target, for example by engaging in transactions with targets of US sanctions denominated in US dollars that