May 27, 2021

Bank Julius Baier & Co. Ltd. (BJB), a Swiss bank with international operations, will pay $79 million in penalties and enter into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement to resolve a criminal investigation into the bank’s involvement in a money laundering conspiracy that fueled an international soccer bribery scheme.  BJB admitted that it conspired to launder over $36 million in bribes through the United States to soccer officials with FIFA and other federations, in furtherance of a scheme in which sports marketing companies bribed soccer officials in exchange for broadcasting rights to soccer matches.  BJB’s Anti-Money Laundering controls failed to detect or prevent the money laundering, despite knowing that certain client accounts were associated with international soccer, which was generally understood to involve high-corruption risks.  A BJB executive directed that the opening of these accounts be fast-tracked in the hope that the clients would provide lucrative business.  DOJ

Tagged in: Bribery and Bid-Rigging, Criminal Proceedings, Money Laundering,