Julius Baer has to pay a heavy fine to the U.S. for a money laundering case in connection with the world football association FIFA.
Swiss bank Julius Baer has reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice on the FIFA matter. Julius Baer is paying $79.7 million to end the investigation, according to a statement issued on Monday. The bank had announced in September that it would pursue a solution with the U.S. authorities.
The bank has set aside a provision for the payment, which will be reflected in its 2020 results. The agreement in principle is expected to be finalized shortly. It includes the suspension of criminal prosecution for three years.
Spectacular Arrest in Zurich
Julius Baer has been cooperating on the case with the Department of Justice since 2015, involving FIFA officials and other persons as well as sports media and marketing companies. In May of the same year, several FIFA officials were spectacularly arrested in Zurich's luxury hotel Baur au Lac. In December 2015, two more officials were arrested in the same hotel at the behest of the Americans. At that time, FIFA was still led by Sepp Blatter.
Julius Baer had accepted money from corrupt FIFA sources. Last February, the Swiss Financial Market Authority Finma had concluded a corresponding enforcement procedure and, among other things, had prohibited Julius Baer from making any major takeovers until further notice.
Blocked Bonuses
Julius Baer already initiated a comprehensive program in 2016. The incidents date back to the period when Boris Collardi was CEO of Julius Baer and his later successor Bernhard Hodler was Head of Risk and Compliance. The bank has blocked bonuses for both.
