DEUTSCHE Bank AG agreed to pay US$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 plead guilty to the charges. The case was brought by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, New York, and Washington who secured a US$920 million fine against JPMorgan Chase last year, the largest sanction ever tied to spoofing.
Big banks have been rushing to conclude legal deals before the change of US administrations, partly out of concern that there may be stiffer fines under a Democratic president. Three top US-based banks agreed to pay more than US$4 billion in settlements announced just before the November election, on issues ranging from bribery to market manipulation.
