PayPal has agreed to pay a $7.7 million (5.1million) fine for allowing transactions involving items being sent to and from Cuba, Iran and Sudan, despite sanctions against the countries.
The US Treasury Department said PayPal failed to check the identities and details of those making the payments, one of which was a payment for $7,000 that was linked to weapons of mass destruction.
It also believes PayPal allowed around 500 'illegal' payments to go through, totalling almost $44,000 (29,500). However, PayPal did voluntarily tell the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) about the payments.
PayPal said the reason these payments went through was because there was a delay in scanning the transactions between 2009 and 2013.
PayPal's chief compliance officer Gene Truono said in a statement: "We recognise that prior to April 2013, PayPal did not have a system that could scan payments in real time in order to block prohibited payments. There was a delay in the scanning, which allowed some prohibited payments to be processed."
A PayPal representative told the BBC: "Since then, we've taken additional steps to support compliance with Ofac regulations with the introduction of real-time scanning of payments and improved processes."
One of the most concerning events was the allowing of payments by Kursad Zafer Cire, who had been identified by the US State Department in 2009 as someone involved in weapons of mass destruction. PayPal allowed 136 payments to or from an account associated with him throughout the period.
Truono said: "Government compliance is a priority and a central component of how we do business around the world."
-
HP ZBook Ultra G1a reviewReviews AMD's new Ryzen AI Max+ 395 redefines what we can expect from a laptop chipset with an integrated GPU and delivers outstanding performance
-
AI in the legal sector: How to separate the signal from the noiseSupported From contract review to litigation strategy, AI promises efficiency. But with so much noise in the market, legal professionals must know how to spot tools that deliver real value
-
‘A major step forward’: Keir Starmer’s £187 million tech skills drive welcomed by UK industryNews The ‘TechFirst’ program aims to shore up the UK’s digital skills to meet future AI needs
-
Government’s ‘Humphrey’ AI tool helps local authorities cut costsNews The Minute tool, part of the Humphrey AI assistant, is being trialled at 25 councils
-
Starmer bets big on AI to unlock public sector savingsNews AI adoption could be a major boon for the UK and save taxpayers billions, according to prime minister Keir Starmer.
-
UK government targets ‘startup’ mindset in AI funding overhaulNews Public sector AI funding will be overhauled in the UK in a bid to simplify processes and push more projects into development.
-
UK government signs up Anthropic to improve public servicesNews The UK government has signed a memorandum of understanding with Anthropic to explore how the company's Claude AI assistant could be used to improve access to public services.
-
The UK’s AI ambitions face one major hurdle – finding enough home-grown talentNews Research shows UK enterprises are struggling to fill AI roles, raising concerns over the country's ability to meet expectations in the global AI race.
-
US government urged to overhaul outdated technologyNews A review from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found legacy technology and outdated IT systems are negatively impacting efficiency.
-
Government urged to improve tech procurement practicesNews The National Audit Office highlighted wasted money and a lack of progress on major digital transformation programmes
