French bank to Pay $585m penalty for bribing Libyan officials in Gaddafi govt
Adetokunbo Fakeye
London, June 7, 2018 (AltAfrika)-Société Générale S.A. (Société Générale), a global financial services institution based in Paris, France, and its wholly owned subsidiary, SGA Société Générale Acceptance N.V., have agreed to pay a combined total penalty of more than $860 million to resolve charges with criminal authorities in the United States and France.
The agreement according to U.S. department of Justice includes $585 million relating to a multi-year scheme to pay bribes to officials in Libya during Muammar Gaddafi era, and $275 million for violations arising from its manipulation of the London InterBank Offered Rate (LIBOR), one of the world’s leading benchmark interest rates.
SGA Société Générale Acceptance N.V. will plead guilty in the Eastern District of New York in connection with the resolution of the foreign bribery case.
With approximately $475 million in regulatory penalties that Société Générale has agreed to pay to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in connection with the LIBOR scheme, the total penalties to be paid by the bank exceed $1 billion.
In the same proceedings, Société Générale has also reached a settlement with the Parquet National Financier (PNF) in Paris relating to the Libya corruption scheme.
In the same proceedings, Société Générale has also reached a settlement with the Parquet National Financier (PNF) in Paris relating to the Libya corruption scheme.
This is the first coordinated resolution with French authorities in a foreign bribery case.
According to the acting Assistant Attorney General, Cronan, for years, Société Générale undermined the integrity of global markets and foreign institutions by issuing false financial data and by fraudulently securing contracts through bribery.
According to the acting Assistant Attorney General, Cronan, for years, Société Générale undermined the integrity of global markets and foreign institutions by issuing false financial data and by fraudulently securing contracts through bribery.
.U.S. Attorney Donoghue said: “The resolution announced today by the Department with Societe Generale and a subsidiary, which includes a guilty plea, admissions of wrongdoing, significant corrective measures and hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties, sends a powerful message to financial institutions that engage in corruption and manipulation in the financial markets that they will be held accountable.
FBI Special Agent in Charge, DeSarno said, “Today’s resolution demonstrates that fraudulently manipulating LIBOR and deceiving the financial market has severe consequences, and the FBI will not tolerate this type of criminal activity.
The FCPA Case
According to the companies’ admissions, between 2004 and 2009, Société Générale paid bribes through a Libyan “broker” in connection with 14 investments made by Libyan state-owned financial institutions.
According to the companies’ admissions, between 2004 and 2009, Société Générale paid bribes through a Libyan “broker” in connection with 14 investments made by Libyan state-owned financial institutions.
For each transaction, Société Générale paid the Libyan broker a commission of between one and a half and three percent of the nominal amount of the investments made by the Libyan state institutions.
In total, Société Générale paid the Libyan Intermediary over $90 million, portions of which the Libyan broker paid to high-level Libyan officials in order to secure the investments from various Libyan state institutions for Société Générale. As a result of the corrupt scheme, Société Générale obtained 13 investments and one restructuring from the Libyan state institutions worth a total of approximately $3.66 billion, and earned profits of approximately $523 million.
