Citi warns some employees about inappropriate behavior by staff, contractors, memo says

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Citigroup has warned some employees about fraud and unethical behavior and said it is considering tighter control over work done by contractors to ensure the company is billed accurately, according to a memo seen by Reuters on Friday.

Citi has worked to address weaknesses in controls and risk management. Regulators fined it $136 million in July for insufficient progress on regulatory penalties dating back to 2020.

“Citi has zero tolerance for fraudulent and unethical behavior by our employees, non-employees and suppliers,” according to Citi’s internal notice seen by Reuters.

“Citi is looking to strengthen our controls over how we work” to ensure that providers meet its needs and are paid at appropriate rates 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 procurement and third-party management, and Erika Federico, global head of non-employee personnel.

The lender also required staff to report any potential misconduct or violations of its policies. Suspected misuse of Citi resources for personal or professional purposes will be investigated, the statement said.

(Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer, additional reporting by Elisa Martinuzzi, editing by Lananh Nguyen and Chizu Nomiyama)