|
 U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield in Manhattan formally ordered
the French bank to forfeit $8.83 billion and pay a $140 million fine
as part of a sentence that also called for BNP Paribas to enhance
its compliance procedures and policies.
Some of that money could now go to people harmed by the three
sanctioned countries under a program the U.S. Justice Department
announced in court.
Georges Dirani, BNP's general counsel, told the judge that the bank
accepted "full responsibility for its conduct," and was under CEO
Jean-Laurent Bonnafé's personal supervision already improving its
policies.
"There's no question the organization will not tolerate the kind of
behavior we have seen in this case," Dirani said.
The case marked the first time a global bank pleaded guilty to
violations of U.S. economic sanctions, the Justice Department said.
The sentencing followed BNP Paribas' guilty plea in July to
conspiring from 2004 to 2012 to violate the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act and the Trading with the Enemy Act.
The sentence imposed by Schofield followed the terms of a heavily
negotiated plea deal the Justice Department announced that month.
Authorities said that BNP essentially functioned as the "central
bank for the government of Sudan," concealing its tracks and failing
to cooperate when first contacted by law enforcement.
Prosecutors said BNP also evaded sanctions against entities in Iran
and Cuba, in part by stripping information from wire transfers so
they could pass through the U.S. system without raising red flags.
BOMBING VICTIMS
Friday's sentencing took place in a courtroom crowded with people
Schofield said claimed to have been harmed by actions taken by the
sanctioned countries and who were seeking restitution.
While Schofield said they were not legally entitled to that relief,
prosecutor Jennifer Ambuehl said the Justice Department would
evaluate distributing the $3.84 billion in forfeitures it received
in the deal to people harmed by Sudan, Cuba and Iran.
Ambuehl called the effort "unprecedented" and said the Justice
Department would shortly be launching a website to accept claims.
[to top of second column] |
But the program, which covers anyone harmed from 2004 to 2012, came
as a disappointment to victims of the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in
Kenya and Tanzania, which killed 224 people.
Several victims had flown to New York in anticipation of the
program's announcement. They had cited a U.S. court's finding that
without Sudan's support, al Qaeda could not have perpetrated the
attacks.
"We had hoped that the Department of Justice would stand with us and
are deeply disappointed that it chose to delay and not do the right
thing," George Mimba, the former head of the Kenya embassy
employees, said in a statement.
BNP's sentencing had been delayed for months while it awaited word
on whether the U.S. Labor Department would allow it to continue to
manage retirement plans despite the plea. The department granted BNP
that exemption this month.
A New York state court judge on April 15 sentenced BNP Paribas in a
related case in which it agreed to forfeit $2.24 billion.
That sum, along with a $508 million payment to the Federal Reserve
and a $2.24 billion payment to the New York Department of Financial
Services, are credited toward the $8.9 billion ordered by Schofield
on Friday.
The sentencing came a day after BNP Paribas reported first-quarter
net income of 1.65 billion euros ($1.83 billion), up 17.5 percent.
Revenue grew 11.6 percent to 11.1 billion euros.
The case is U.S. v. BNP Paribas SA, U.S. District Court, Southern
District of New York, No. 14-cr-00460.
(Editing by Ted Botha)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
