Agents of America's Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) are coming after United Bank for Africa (UBA) officials, based on allegations that the bank broke money laundering laws in the United States.

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Sources said UBA has been under investigation for a while, but the FBI took over the case after the bank admitted to "some unlawful act," and agreed to pay a fine of $15 million.

U.S. banking regulatory officials alleged that about $200 million in questionable transactions were traced to UBA.

Although the FBI refused to disclose the identities of those behind the deals, an official involved with the probe said Nigerian officials and businessmen could be implicated.

"We just want to get to the root of the matter, and now that the bank has agreed to pay a fine, we can move ahead to investigate the circumstances that led to the questionable transactions", the source explained.

The FBI said it has secured the approval of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other Nigerian authorities for the probe.

UBA is the product of the merger of Nigeria's third and fifth largest banks, namely the old UBA and Standard Trust Bank (STB), and a subsequent acquisition of Continental Trust Bank (CTB).

Its history dates back to the founding of the old UBA in 1961, and STB and CTB, both in 1990.

Today's UBA emerged at a time of industry consolidation induced by regulation, and is borne out of a desire to lead the domestic sector to a new era of global relevance.

It plans to do this by championing the creation of the Nigerian consumer finance market, leading a private/public sector partnership to support economic growth, and becoming a one-stop financial services institution, while spreading its footprints across Africa to earn a reputation as the face of banking in the continent.

UBA is the largest financial services institution in West Africa; with a balance sheet of over N1 trillion, more than six million customer accounts, and operating out of the two most vibrant economies in the region - Nigeria and Ghana.

It has over 630 retail distribution centres across Nigeria, its main operational base, and eight branches in Ghana.

It also has presence in New York and Cayman Island.