US corporate criminal penalties rise 647pc

The total of criminal penalties given to corporates in the US rose 647 per cent between 2001 and 2012, according to figures complied by Brandon Garrett, law school professor at the University of Virginia.

It has emerged that US authorities suggested a US$16b fine for BNP Paribas at one stage in negotiations - a fine which would have beaten the record of US$13b paid out by JP Morgan in 2013. However, the $16b is said to have been proposed as a negotiating tactic, in response to a US$1b offer from the French bank. And it is also said that the most recent figure under discussion, over alleged breaching of sanctions to Sudan, is US$10b.

Exuberant

‘I think everyone realises that it's an exuberant market,’ said one lawyer who has negotiated with the US Justice Department. One bank lawyer said: ‘Lots of sophisticated observers view these as extortion at this point.’ Source: Reuters