Barclays (LON:BARC) has been hit by a $15 million penalty by a New York regulator over attempts by its chief executive to unmask a whistleblower.

The New York State Department of financial services investigation concluded that Barclays had violated local and banking law regarding whistleblower procedures.

The fine relates to a scandal back in 2016, when chief executive Jes Staley attempted to name a whistleblower, prompting the launch of a series of investigations against the bank.

“Whistleblowers are vital to uncovering and addressing intentional wrongdoing,” commented Maria Vullo, New York department of financial services superintendent.

She added: “DFS’s thorough investigation uncovered actions at the top that exposed the bank to risk and created an atmosphere in which employees might doubt that it was safe to escalate issues of concern to the bank.”

The fine follows a £642,430 penalty dealt by the UK’s financial watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to the bank.

Back in August, Barclays reported a fall in its half-year profits as legal and litigation costs relating various controversies dragged down revenue.

Pre-tax profits fell from £2.3 billion to £1.6 billion after the bank were forced to payout £2 billion, including costs relating to a £1.4 billion settlement.

This latest penalty marks one of many fines in recent years, including compensation relating to PPI and investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into a loan given to Qatar back in 2008.

Shares in Barclays are currently +0.45% as of 12:26PM (GMT).