Swiss private banking group Julius Baer is in advanced talks with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) over a double-digit million US dollar settlement linked to world soccer federation FIFA.
The DOJ has been probing the bank since 2015 for alleged money laundering and corruption.
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The corruption is said to have involved officials and affiliates of FIFA as well as associated sports media and marketing firms.
Earlier this year, FINMA rebuked Julius Baer for serious failings in its anti-money laundering (AML) controls between 2009 and 2018 in connection with corruption linked to Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA and FIFA.
At that time, the regulator barred it from making any major acquisition until it implements remedial measures.
In a statement, the bank said: “Subsequent to the closure of an enforcement procedure by the Swiss Financial Markets Authority FINMA against Julius Baer in February 2020, related to the corruption events around the world soccer federation FIFA, the Group continues to pursue the resolution of remaining legacy regulatory and legal matters in cooperation with the relevant authorities.”
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By GlobalDataOther legal issues
In January this year, Julius Baer faced a renewed lawsuit for €335m ($395m) with 5% interest by the liquidator of a Lithuanian corporation.
In 2019, the bank closed a 2016 deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the DOJ over aiding tax evasion.
Moreover, the bank was under the scanner following the indictment of its former employee Matthias Krull in a money laundering case involving PDVSA.
Zurich-based Julius Baer has operations in over 20 countries and over 50 locations.
These include Dubai, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Mexico City, Milan, Monaco, Montevideo, Moscow, Mumbai, São Paulo, Singapore and Tokyo.
The private bank managed CHF402bn in assets as of 30 June 2020.
Dividend distribution
This April, the bank unveiled plans to split its 2019 dividend distribution of CHF1.50 into two tranches amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The first distribution was approved at the bank’s annual meeting held on 18 May 2020.
The board would propose the second half of its dividend distribution at an extraordinary shareholder meeting on 2 November 2020.
