BNP Paribas, the world`s fourth-largest bank, has agreed to admit guilt and pay an $8.97 billion fine to settle allegations that it „knowingly and intentionally“ handled billions of dollars in transactions for blacklisted companies in Cuba, Sudan and IranBNP Paribas, the world`s fourth-largest bank. pay a record fine of $8.97 billion to settle allegations that they „knowingly and intentionally“ carried out multi-billion dollar transactions on behalf of blacklisted Cuban, Sudanese and Iranian entities. BNP`s conviction had been delayed for several months as it waited to see if the U.S. Department of Labor would allow it to continue administering pension plans despite the plea. The Department granted this exemption to BNP that month. The New York District Attorney`s Office also announced that BNPP had pleaded guilty in the New York State Supreme Court to falsifying business documents and conspiring to falsify business documents. According to court documents, BNP Paribas agreed to drop the charge and admit guilty of knowingly and deliberately conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA) from 2004 to 2012 by processing billions of dollars in transactions through the US financial system on behalf of the Sudanese. Iranian and Cuban entities subject to U.S. economic sanctions.

The conviction followed BNP Paribas` guilty plea in July that it conspired from 2004 to 2012 to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Trade with the Enemy Act. BNP Paribas, the Paris-based financial institution, has agreed to admit its guilt of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Trade with the Enemy Act (TWEA). the first time a world bank has agreed to plead guilty to systematic large-scale violations of U.S. economic sanctions. BNP has agreed to plead guilty and pay a fine of $8.9 billion, a record amount for a bank accused of doing business with countries facing U.S. sanctions. State and federal agencies have portrayed bnp, the seventh bank to settle a criminal sanctions violation case, but the first to plead guilty, as the worst violator. French banking giant BNP Paribas pleaded guilty this week and reached a record $8.9 billion settlement with the Justice Ministry for violations of economic sanctions. BNP Paribas will formally plead guilty on July 9 before U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield in the Southern District of New York.

The agreement, subject to court approval, provides for the bank to pay a total of $9 billion in financial penalties, including the forfeiture of $8.8 billion and a fine of $140 million. It was the first time a world bank pleaded guilty to violating U.S. economic sanctions, the Justice Department said. The agreement with BNP Paribas is the seventh major case of sanctions violations by a major international bank since 2009, resulting in a total confiscation of about $12 billion. Other banks that have paid fines to settle U.S. allegations of violating sanctions against Cuba, Libya, Iran and Sudan include Barclays, Credit Suisse, Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered. Barclays Plc BARC. L, Citigroup Inc C.N, JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM. N, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc RBS. L and UBS Group AG UBSG.

S also pleaded guilty, the Justice Department said. The six banks were fined more than $2.8 billion. „While we estimate the extent of BNP`s guilty plea, we believe it does not mean the end of `too big for prison,`“ Public Citizen, a nonprofit watchdog group, said in a statement. BNP Paribas` plea follows the admission of guilt by a former trader, Jason Katz, on January 4, 2017, for conspiracy to set currency prices. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced that BNP Paribas will plead guilty and pay a fine of $8.9 billion for violating sanctions. Unlike Credit Suisse, which paid fines but had little practical impact on the admission of guilt, BNP had to temporarily give up a core business in New York. The settlement represents the highest penalty the Department of Justice has ever received in an economic sanctions case, and the largest in a criminal case involving a bank. It is also the first time a world bank has agreed to plead guilty to systematic large-scale violations of U.S. economic sanctions. In the BNP case, authorities tried to send a message that no bank is immune to criminal charges, despite persistent concerns that financial institutions are so large and interconnected that they are „too big to put in jail.“ The decision to force BNP`s parent company to plead guilty comes six weeks after Credit Suisse pleaded guilty to helping U.S.

clients evade tax, reflecting a broader policy shift after decades of civil settlements and so-called deferred prosecution agreements. „This conspiracy was known and tolerated at the highest levels of the BNP,“ Edward Starishevsky, an assistant district attorney for the District of Manhattan, said Monday in court as the bank pleaded guilty to a charge of falsifying business documents and a conspiracy charge. Yet criminal pleas could prompt regulators to revoke a bank`s license, Wall Street`s equivalent of the death penalty. To avoid this outcome, prosecutors and regulators coordinated their actions months in advance. NEW YORK (Reuters) – A unit of BNP Paribas SA BNPP. The PA has agreed to plead guilty and pay a $90 million fine for manipulating foreign currency prices, the U.S. Department of Justice said Friday. Schofield`s sentence followed the terms of a heavily negotiated plea agreement announced by the Justice Department this month. The Justice Department said the conspiracy involved price manipulation on an electronic trading platform through the creation of fake transactions, coordinated transactions and price agreements to be offered to certain customers, among other things. In a statement, Deputy Attorney General James Cole said BNP`s failure to fully cooperate with law enforcement „has significantly affected the government`s ability to bring charges against responsible individuals, sanctioned companies and satellite banks. This failure, along with bnp`s continued misconduct, forced a criminal plea and a fine of nearly $9 billion. The agreement provides, subject to court approval, that BNPP will pay a total of $8.97 billion in financial penalties, including the forfeiture of $8.83 billion and a fine of $140 million.

Four other traders were also criminally charged, and one of them pleaded guilty, the Justice Ministry said. The BNP had initially hoped to be able to postpone an admission of guilt. He had proposed to create a brand new subsidiary to plead guilty, according to people briefed on the matter. A New York state judge convicted BNP Paribas on April 15 in a related case in which it agreed to lose $2.24 billion. Preet Bharara, the U.S. prosecutor in Manhattan who accused BNP of „committing what was actually a trick of fraud,“ argued that no bank is too big to be incriminated. Crédit Agricole, which was fined nearly $790 million last week for U.S. violations. The Sanctions Act is the latest warning about this particularly sensitive period of business compliance. Penalties for sanction violations are increasing and the regulations themselves are becoming exponentially more complicated. Compliance with sanctions was a major problem to one. Manhattan federal prosecutor Preet Bharara said the BNPP had „relied on never being held accountable for its criminal support of countries and institutions involved in acts of terrorism and other atrocities.“ This result should send a strong message to all institutions – any institution anywhere in the world – that do business in the United States: this illegal behavior will simply not be tolerated,“ U.S.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said at a news conference Monday. BNP Paribas is the sixth major bank to admit criminal misconduct in the Justice Ministry`s currency investigation. ==External links==Manhattan District Judge Lorna Schofield formally ordered the French bank to withhold $8.83 billion and pay a $140 million fine in a decision that also called on BNP Paribas to improve its compliance procedures and policies. „BNP Paribas has gone to great lengths to hide the prohibited transactions, cover its tracks and deceive the US authorities. These actions constitute a serious violation of the United States.