Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — The United States has imposed an unprecedented fine on a French bank accused of violating sanctions on Iran and Sudan.

The Justice Department said France’s BNP Paribas pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on Cuba, Iran and Sudan.

Officials said BNP provided companies and individuals from these countries with illegal access to the U.S. financial system.

“Remarkably, BNPP continued to engage in this criminal conduct even
after being told by its own lawyers that what it was doing was illegal,”
Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell said.

On June 30, the Justice Department released court documents on the guilty plea by BNP, which engaged in more than $650 million of transactions involving entities tied to Iran through 2012.

The department said the Iranian transactions were conducted for BNP clients, including a petroleum
company based in the United Arab Emirates.

  BNP Paribas, Cuba, Sudan, U.S. hits French bank with $8.9 billion fine for skirting sanctions on Iran, U.S. Justice Department