BNP Paribas sentenced in €7.95bn sanctions case
US district judge Lorna Schofield in Manhattan formally ordered the French bank to forfeit $8.83bn and pay a $140m (€125m) fine as part of a sentence.
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’s 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 that the US Justice Department announced that month.
The department said that during the five-year probation period, BNP would be required to enhance its compliance policies and procedures.
Authorities said that BNP essentially functioned as the “central bank for the government of Sudan”, concealing its tracks and failing to co-operate 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 US system without raising red flags.
BNP’s sentencing had been delayed for months while it awaited word on whether the US Labour 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 $2.24bn.
That sum, along with a $508m payment to the Federal Reserve and a $2.24bn payment to the New York Department of Financial Services, are credited toward the $8.9bn ordered by Schofield yesterday.
Friday’s sentencing came a day after BNP Paribas reported first-quarter net income of €1.65bn, up 17.5%. Revenue grew 11.6% to €11.1bn.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
