CRARY Credit Agricole SA (PK)

By Christopher M. Matthews and Noemie Bisserbe 

French bank Crédit Agricole SA has agreed to pay $787 million to U.S. and New York authorities to resolve allegations it violated U.S. sanctions by handling transactions involving Iran, Sudan, Myanmar and Cuba.

Federal prosecutors accused the bank of conspiring to defraud the U.S. government by violating economic sanctions, according to a complaint filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., Tuesday. As part of the deal to resolve the allegations, the bank admitted wrongdoing and the criminal charge is expected to be dropped after three years if it abides by the settlement terms. The bank also settled with a handful of other federal and state authorities.

A Crédit Agricole spokeswoman declined to comment.

The settlement is the latest to stem from a crackdown by U.S. authorities on European banks that allegedly did deals with companies or people in countries under U.S. sanctions. In recent years, U.S. authorities and New York state regulators have aggressively pursued and fined banks active in Iran, Sudan, and other sanctioned countries.

Commerzbank AG, Credit Suisse Group AG, HSBC Holdings, Barclays PLC, and Standard Chartered, among others, have agreed to pay billions of dollars in fines to settle allegations of sanctions violations.

New York City prosecutors filed separate charges Tuesday that Crédit Agricole violated New York state law by falsifying business records, a charge that will be dropped under the terms of a separate settlement reached with the New York State Department of Financial Services, Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The Washington, D.C., U.S. attorney's office filed the federal criminal charge.

The agreement should come as a relief to investors after U.S. authorities last year ordered French peer BNP Paribas SA to pay a record $9 billion fine in connection with sanctions violations, raising fears Crédit Agricole could face a similar fate.

Crédit Agricole set aside EUR1.6 billion to cover total potential litigation costs.

Write to Christopher M. Matthews at christopher.matthews@wsj.com and Noemie Bisserbe at noemie.bisserbe@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 20, 2015 13:01 ET (17:01 GMT)

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