摩根大通律师Thierry Marembert表示，该行在这起涉嫌欺诈案件中“扮演的角色非常有限”，希望案件能得到进展。According to reports, JPMorgan Chase & CoIt has reached a settlement with France over a long-term criminal investigation and agreed to pay 25 million euros ($29.2 million) to settle the case. It is reported that the investigation accused JPMorgan Chase & Co of helping clients carry out tax fraud.
Jean-Fran ç ois Bohnert, the chief financial prosecutor, said at a court hearing in Paris on Thursday that the case involved allegations of tax fraud in favor of Wendel, a French investment company, in which JPMorgan Chase & Co's involvement revolved around financing provided to management by his Paris branch in 2007 to restructure its shares in Wendel.
Judge St é phane N ö el of Paris approved the settlement after briefly stating the main facts of the case and the transaction.
Thierry Marembert, a lawyer for JPMorgan Chase & Co, said the bank "played a very limited role" in the suspected fraud case and hoped that the case would make progress.
It is reported that just a few months before the settlement was reached, Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co, said that Paris had become JPMorgan Chase & Co's main trading center in the EU. The bank said it aims to have 800 employees in its Paris office by the end of 2022.
"it is very important for JPMorgan Chase & Co to maintain a peaceful relationship," Marembert said.
JPMorgan Chase & Co pleaded not guilty according to the settlement reached on Thursday. The agreement states that it will be final unless the bank withdraws its funds within the next 10 days. Marembert said JPMorgan Chase & Co would refuse to withdraw the right to the deal.
Prosecutor Fran ç ois Xavier Dulin said that under French law at the time, the fine of 25 million euros was more than 130 times higher than the maximum fine the bank could face in court.
In the Wendel case, JPMorgan Chase & Co was initially ordered to be investigated in 2016, but the bank finally successfully overturned the charges last year after a procedural challenge.
However, for other suspects involved in the investigation, such as Ernest Antoine Seilliere, former chairman of Wendel, and Jean Bernard Lafonta, former chief executive, the case continues. Both men denied the charges, and Wendel was not charged with any wrongdoing in the case.
