The sting will go down in history, yet it is the result of a plea deal. After lengthy negotiations with the US authorities, BNP Paribas agreed to pay a record $8,9736 billion fine. Not only that: the French banking giant will have to dismiss 13 employees, including top managers, and suspend dollar transactions carried out by some sectors of the group for a year.
The institute pleaded guilty to conspiracy and forgery of documents, offenses related to the violation of US sanctions on countries such as Sudan, Cuba and Iran.
The company also said it violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. According to US authorities, the group "acted as a central bank on behalf of countries like Sudan".
The fine exceeds the 4,8 billion euros in profits the bank recorded last year. Extraordinary charges on accounts for the second quarter of 2014 will amount to 5,8 billion euros. Despite this, the Bnp Paribas stock immediately jumped to +3% this morning at the opening session of the Paris Stock Exchange.
