Japan's Largest Bank to Pay $250 Million Fine for Iran Deals New York State has imposed a $250 million fine on the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ over claims that the bank, Japan's largest by assets, transferred illicit funds on behalf of Iran and other countries blacklisted from doing business in the United States, officials announced on Thursday. The bank, which settled the case with New York's financial regulator, Benjamin M. Lawsky, was accused of routing 28,000 payments worth about $100 billion through its New York branches. To avoid detection, the bank stripped information from wire transfers that could have exposed the identity of the Iranian entities. The bank approved the illegal transfers over at least a five-year span, ending in 2007, according to the action released by Mr. Lawsky's agency, the New York State Department of Financial Services. The transfers involved "government and privately owned entities" in Iran. Additionally, the bank had dealings with Sudan and Myanmar. At the time, those countries were all operating under United States sanctions. "Whenever and wherever we uncover serious wrongdoing, we will take strong enforcement action to protect our country from money laundering, terrorism and other dangerous misdeeds," Mr. Lawsky said in a statement. A spokesman for the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ declined to comment. The bank, according to the action, voluntarily alerted regulators to its activity. It also has moved to bolster its internal controls in the years since. Still, the $250 million penalty dwarfs an earlier settlement the bank had reached with an arm of the Treasury Department in Washington. Last year, the agency imposed an $8.6 million fine on the bank over its violations of United States sanctions. Mr. Lawsky's action on Thursday could aggravate tensions with federal authorities, who first expressed frustration with his agency last year when it moved alone to penalize another bank for illicit money transfers. In August, Mr. Lawsky struck a $340 million settlement with the British bank Standard Chartered, which he accused of transferring hundreds of billions of dollars in tainted money for Iran and lying to regulators. Federal authorities were slower to act against the bank, ultimately reaching their own deal in December for $327 million. "We have and will continue to take a hard line in rooting out misconduct at banks that threatens our national security," Mr. Lawsky said in the statement. Mr. Lawsky's aggressive style - and rare decision to act alone - inspired comparisons to Eliot L. Spitzer. Mr. Spitzer, during his tenure as New York's attorney general, similarly received praise and criticism for his tough tactics on Wall Street and his tendency to muscle aside federal authorities. The action against the Japanese bank caps a busy week for Mr. Lawsky. On Tuesday, he took aim at the bank consulting industry, leveling a $10 million fine and one-year ban against Deloitte, one of the nation's most prominent consultants. Mr. Lawsky accused Deloitte of watering down recommendations it made about fixing Standard Chartered's dealings with Iran. In the case against the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Mr. Lawsky ordered the bank to hire an outside consultant to examine its operations. The consultant will have to abide by a new set of standards that Mr. Lawsky announced this week. In a statement, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo trumpeted the settlement with the Japanese bank as a warning shot to Wall Street. "Today's agreement will send a clear message that we are working aggressively to restore and uphold accountability on Wall Street," he said, "and those who try to go around the law will be caught."