A US judge approved on Wednesday giant British bank Barclays PLC’s US$298 million settlement of charges that it had violated US trade sanctions, a day after he criticized the agreement as a “sweetheart deal.”
US District Judge Emmet Sullivan endorsed the deal, in which the bank will pay the money as part of a deferred prosecution agreement over charges that it violated US sanctions by doing deals with Cuba, Iran, Libya, Sudan and Myanmar.
The judge approved the agreement after an hour-long hearing in which he expressed concerns that Barclays was not pleading guilty; that no individuals were being prosecuted; and that the US$298 million would be paid by shareholders, not corporate executives.
US Department of Justice lawyer Kevin Gerrity defended the agreement as a “fair and appropriate resolution.”
He told the judge that the bank’s internal four-year investigation had cost it an additional US$250 million.
Barclays was charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Trading with the Enemy Act in its dealings that involved US$500 million from 1995 until September 2006, according to court documents.
The US has imposed sanctions and trade embargoes against Cuba, Iran, Libya, Sudan and Myanmar. Barclays was accused of hiding transactions on behalf of banks in those countries.
At its London headquarters, Barclays announced the settlement with US authorities and said no further action would be taken against the bank if it complied with the agreement.
It said it “is committed to the highest levels of integrity and regulatory compliance across all of its operations. Barclays has taken significant steps to enhance further its compliance programs.”
Under the deal, Barclays will pay US$149 million to the US government and a separate US$149 million in a deferred prosecution agreement with the district attorney in New York, according to the documents.
The prosecution agreement will last 24 months and if Barclays complied with the terms, the charges would be dismissed in two years.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique