Deutsche Bank Reaches $100 Million Deferred-Prosecution Deal
Bloomberg, 08 January 2021
Deutsche Bank AG agreed to pay more than $130 million to settle criminal and civil charges that it bribed foreign officials and manipulated the market for precious-metals futures through a trading tactic known as spoofing. The Frankfurt-based bank agreed to a deal in which it won’t be prosecuted as long as it doesn’t engage in the practices again for more than three years, and wasn’t required to spoofing. Big banks have been rushing to conclude legal deals before the change of U.S. administrations, partly out of concern that there may be stiffer fines under a Democratic president. Three top U.S.-based banks agreed to pay more than $4 billion in settlements announced just before the November election, on issues ranging from bribery to market manipulation.
Deutsche Bank’s agreement with the Justice Department was confirmed at a remote hearing in federal court in Brooklyn on Friday. The bank will pay $80 million in criminal penalties for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and another $5.6 million for commodities fraud, though the bank received credit on the latter fine for an earlier settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
