NEW YORK (Reuters) – Citigroup warned some employees about fraud and unethical behavior and said it was considering stricter oversight of contractors’ work to ensure the company is billed accurately, according to a memo seen by Reuters on Friday.
Citi has struggled to address weaknesses in controls and risk management. The country was fined $136 million by regulators in July for failing to make sufficient progress on regulatory penalties dating back to 2020.
“Citi will not tolerate fraudulent and unethical behavior from our employees, non-employees and suppliers,” said the internal Citi memo seen by Reuters.
“Citi is considering tightening our controls over the way we procure work” to ensure suppliers meet needs and are paid appropriately for the hours they work, the memo said.
The bank declined to comment and the memo did not provide specific details about why it was sent.
The memo was sent by Scott Sigal, Citi’s global head of purchasing and external management, and Erika Federico, the global head of non-employee staffing.
The lender also asked staff to report any potential misconduct or violations of its policies. Suspected misuse of Citi funds for personal or professional gain would be investigated, the report said.
(Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer, additional reporting by Elisa Martinuzzi, editing by Lananh Nguyen and Chizu Nomiyama)
