UAE-based lender Mashreqbank has been hit with a penalty of $100m to settle charges of flouting US sanction laws by having business ties with Sudan.

The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) stated that between 2005 and 2009 Mashreqbank processed payments worth over $4bn linked to Sudan.

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DFS’ probe found that the lender had directed its staff to omit certain fields in the payment messages sent between banks to avoid sanction filters.

In 2009, after the news of a Swiss bank being investigated by the US authorities broke, Mashreqbank closed all US dollar accounts held by Sudanese banks with it.

However, the Dubai-based lender did not inform the authorities about these transactions till 2015.

From 2010 to 2014, Mashreqbank’s New York branch processed nearly $2.5m in payments tied to Sudan.

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Acting Superintendent of Financial Services Adrienne Harris said: “The sanctions regulations exist to protect the national security of the United States, and Mashreq’s actions to circumvent those regulations were illegal and dangerous and will not be tolerated in an institution that has enjoyed the benefits of doing business in New York.”

The US had imposed sanctions on Sudan in 1997 for its support of global terrorism as well as human rights violations.

Last month, British bank NatWest pleaded guilty to money laundering lapses. The lender could be fined £340m for the failings.