OCC Assesses $438,000 in Money Penalties Against Argentine Group That Illegally Tried to Control Maryland Bank

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today announced payment of a civil money penalty of $261,000 from Horacio Bernardo Rozenblum of Miami, Florida and Buenos Aires, Argentina. An additional civil money penalty of $177,000 was assessed against an associate of Rozenblum, Salem Eduardo Nazar of Mendoza, Argentina. The penalties were assessed in connection with consent orders agreed to by Rozenblum, Nazar, and the OCC.

The OCC actions came after Rozenblum and Nazar, and members of Rozenblum's family, acted in concert to acquire the power to vote 25 percent or more of the stock in Capital Bank, N.A., of Rockville, Maryland. They did so without informing and receiving approval from the OCC as required under the Change in Bank Control Act.

The consent orders require Rozenblum and Nazar to reduce their ownership and control of the bank's common stock to below 10 percent of the shares outstanding. They will not be allowed to own or control more than 10 percent of the bank without the prior approval of the OCC.