United Nations, United Nations.- Due to the blockade of the United States that continues to increase its actions against Cuba today, international banking institutions are threatened with sanctions for the simple fact of providing services to the island.

This is indicated by a statement from Cuba’s mission to the UN, and details from April 2018 to March 2019, that are examples of such financial persecution.

For example, it adds, on October 5, 2018, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the United States Department of the Treasury (OFAC) imposed a fine of five million 263 thousand 171 dollars to JP Mongan Chase for conducting transactions and providing unauthorized services to clients on the List of Specially Designated and Blocked Persons.

On November 19, 2018, the banking-financial entity Société Générale S.A. based in Paris, agreed a total payment of $ 340 million 231 thousand 916 dollars to OFAC, the Office of the Attorney General of the Southern District of New York, the Office of the Prosecutor of the District of New York County, the Federal Reserve and New York State Department of Financial Services.

As they explained, this was due to the violation of the Regulations for the Control of Cuban Assets, the Regulations on Sanctions and Transactions of Iran and the Regulations on Sanctions of Sudan.

According to OFAC, from July 11, 2007 to October 26, 2010 the Société Générale S.A. processed 796 transactions involving Cuba, for a total of more than five billion 500 million dollars.

That penalty is the second largest imposed on a financial institution for relating to the island, highlights the mission of Cuba at the UN.

OFAC also imposed a sanction on April 9, 2019 on Standard Chartered Banc, a bank-financial sector entity based in London, for apparent violations of the Regulations for the Control of Cuban Assets and other sanctions programs applicable to Iran, Syria, Sudan and Myanmar.

In order to avoid a lawsuit, the British company agreed to pay 639 million 23 thousand 750 dollars to OFAC, and two billion 715 million 100 thousand 479 dollars to other US government and state institutions.

On April 15, 2019, OFAC applied sanctions to the European subsidiaries of Unicredit Group in Germany, Austria and Italy for violations of the Regulations for the Control of Cuban Assets and other sanctions programs applicable to Myanmar, Sudan, Syria, Iran and Libya.

As a consequence, and in order to avoid a civil lawsuit, Unicredit Bank AG agreed to pay 553 million 380 thousand 759 dollars; Unicredit Bank Austria AG in the amount of 20 million 326 thousand 340 dollars; and Unicredit S.P.A. a payment of 37 million 316 thousand 322 dollars to the OFAC and other US government and state institutions.

The Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez, stressed that almost six decades of US blockade have caused quantifiable damages for more than 922 thousand 630 million dollars.

But the human damage produced by this genocidal policy is incalculable, he said through his official Twitter account. ‘The suffering caused to Cuban families cannot be accounted for.’