Havana, Aug 27 (Prensa Latina) The powerful Australia & New Zealand Bank Group (ANZ) paid a $5.7 million fine for alleged transactions that were beneficial to Cuba and Sudan, through US bank accounts.

Granma newspaper published on Thursday a US Treasury Department report, published by El Nuevo Herald and mentioned by Cubadebate news, entitled "El bloqueo está igualito: multa millonaria al banco ANZ" (The blockade remains the same, fines of millions to ANZ bank), which revealed the new action taken by the US government, as part of the blocakde against Cuba.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control reported that those violations were practiced "on international trade operations and exchange of foreign currency between 2004 and 2006, involving ANZ in processing transactions and using accounts of US affiliate banks.

The newspaper from Miami stated that this sanction has been the greatest amount fined, in relation to the US economic blockade imposed on Cuba, since June 2004, when the Swiss Bank Union was fined $100 million, the Cubadebate article said.

Such sanction was imposed for allegedly allowing the Cuban government using an US Federal Reserve international program to replace dollar bills in a bad state, the text said.

The economic blockade on Cuba was imposed by the US government in 1962, due to its policy of interference towards the island.