Credit Suisse will pay $30 million to settle allegations it bribed Asian officials by hiring their friends and relatives in return for business. The fine comes on top of a nearly $50 million one levied last month by U.S. justice officials.
The Securities and Exchange Commission in the U.S. fined Credit Suisse roughly $30 million to settle allegations the Swiss bank influenced foreign officials, the regulator said in a statement on Thursday.
The Swiss bank is one of several Wall Street banks including J.P. Morgan to be scrutinized over whether it violated corruption laws in the U.S. in its hiring practices, particularly in China. The U.S. bank settled with American officials for a heftier $264 million two years ago.
Lawbreaker Bank
The SEC said that several, unnamed senior Credit Suisse executives in Asia tried to win business by hiring or promoting people tied to government. The practice appears to have been widespread: the regulator said it found more than 100 Credit Suisse employees at the behest of government officials in a seven-year period. The tradeoff? Millions of dollars in revenue for the Swiss bank.
«Bribery can take many forms, including granting employment to friends and relatives of government officials,» SEC official Charles Cain said. «Credit Suisse’s practice of engaging in these hiring practices violated the law, and it is now being held to account for having done so.»
Improved Controls
The bank, which last month agreed to pay U.S. justice officials $47 million to avoid prosecution for its hiring in Asia, said it is pleased to put the scandal behind, and that neither the $47 million fine last month nor the $30 million disclosed today will hurt its profits.
«The bank has implemented numerous enhancements to its compliance and controls function and remains committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and fair business practices in every jurisdiction in which it operates,» Credit Suisse said.
