Julius Bär to pay $79.7 million in FIFA corruption settlement
The agreement includes a $43.3 million criminal fine and a $36.4 million forfeiture.
Keystone / Steffen Schmidt
Swiss bank Julius Bär has agreed to pay $79.7 million (CHF71.5 million) in a settlement with the US Department of Justice after being implicated in a sprawling corruption probe surrounding FIFA, world football’s governing body.
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Julius Bär has entered a three-year deferred prosecution agreement to resolve accusations it engaged in a money-laundering conspiracy.
The agreement includes a $43.3 million criminal fine and a $36.4 million forfeiture. It was accepted by US District Judge Pamela Chen at a hearing in Brooklyn, New York.
Switzerland’s third-largest private bank has said it has cooperated with the Justice Department since 2015.
It has also said it has upgraded its compliance controls and dismissed some clients.
Football corruption
The Justice Department unveiled the FIFA probe in April 2015.
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Corruption at FIFA: 25 criminal cases and a prosecutor in hot water
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Switzerland’s attorney general Michael Lauber is facing impeachment proceedings over controversial secret meetings with the FIFA president.
More than 40 defendants, including football and marketing executives, were charged and at least 30 have pleaded guilty.
In June 2017, former Julius Bär banker Jorge Arzuaga pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge for helping an Argentine sports marketing executive pay bribes to the president of Argentina’s football federation, who was a FIFA vice president. Arzuaga was sentenced in November to probation.
Swiss financial regulator FINMA has also imposed penalties for Julius Bär’s anti-money laundering shortfalls, ordering the bank to improve its controls and appoint an auditor. FINMA also reprimanded two former chief executives.
FINMA lifted a ban on Julius Bär making large acquisitions in March.
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FIFA hands new ban and CHF1 million fine to Valcke and Blatter
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Julius Bär reserves $80 million to settle FIFA corruption case
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The Swiss bank has reached an agreement with US authorities investigating links to corruption involving world football’s governing body.
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