Julius Baer Group has agreed to pay around $80m to resolve a US investigation over corruption linked to world soccer federation FIFA.
The Swiss banking group found itself in trouble after accepting money from corrupt FIFA sources. The corruption is said to have involved officials and affiliates of FIFA as well as associated sports media and marketing firms.
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The firm has been charged with a money-laundering conspiracy in the US.
The banks said that it has finalised the agreement reached with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in November 2020 to settle the charges related to the scandal.
Following a deferred-prosecution agreement, the authorities agreed to drop the charges against the firm in three years if it meets a certain condition.
Julius Baer will pay $43.3m in fine and a $36.4m forfeiture to settle the probe.
“Julius Baer welcomes the final resolution of this legacy matter. This marks another step in Julius Baer’s continued efforts to pursue the closure of remaining regulatory and legal matters in cooperation with the relevant authorities,” the bank said in a press statement.
In November last year, Julius Baer said it has set aside a provision of $79.7m to cover the financial penalties in relation to the case.
In 2017, former Julius Baer banker Jorge Arzuaga pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge for helping an Argentine sports marketing executive to bribe FIFA vice president.
Last November, Arzuaga was sentenced to three years of probation.
Julius Baer reported a nearly 50% jump in net profit in 2020, driving on higher client activity which negated the impact of a write-down related to its struggling Italian subsidiary Kairos.
