“Abanca Corporación Bancaria,” a Spanish bank, will pay a fine of 3.8 million euros (4.2 million dollars) to avoid being prosecuted in France for money laundering and tax fraud, according to an agreement approved on Friday by a Paris court. Abanca had been accused of money laundering offenses committed between 2011 and 2013. The court approved a public interest judicial agreement that was concluded between Abanca and the prosecutor’s office on March 23 and that also includes the payment of 500,000 euros (550,000 dollars) by the bank as damages to the French state, in addition to the 3.8 million euros in fines.
The case was uncovered during an investigation into other events, when investigators discovered the existence of a check compensation system and liquidity provisions in the Paris branch of Caixa Galicia, which was later restructured to create Abanca. The investigations revealed that checks worth more than 8 million euros (8.85 million dollars at the current exchange rate) were handed over and that some of them were cashed by clients with no connection to Spain.
According to the French prosecutor, the bank could have gained income and other advantages “from the operation of the disputed accounts and the attraction of interested clients.” One of the bank’s lawyers, Guillaume Pellegrin, admitted during the hearing that the checks had been misused and considered the agreement “the best solution for everyone.” Under this public-interest judicial agreement, the penalty does not imply an admission of guilt or a conviction.