Goldman Sachs to pay record €425m to settle fraud case

EMBATTLED US bank Goldman Sachs will pay a record $550 million (€425m) to settle a US fraud probe, the Securities and Exchange Commission said yesterday.

Goldman faced civil charges filed by the SEC, which accused the company of defrauding investors about a financial product based on subprime mortgage-backed securities.

“This settlement is a stark lesson to Wall Street firms that no product is too complex, and no investor too sophisticated, to avoid a heavy price if a firm violates the fundamental principles of honest treatment and fair dealing,” said the SEC’s director of enforcement Robert Khuzami.