Federal Reserve Board announces civil money penalty and issues cease and desist order against Credit Agricole

Federal Reserve Board announces civil money penalty and issues cease and desist order against Credit Agricole S.A. (Fed press release):

The Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday announced a $90.3 million penalty and consent cease and desist order against Crédit Agricole S.A., of Paris, France, related to violations of U.S. sanctions. The order requires Crédit Agricole, including its foreign subsidiary, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, to implement an enhanced program to ensure global compliance with U.S. sanctions administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The actions were taken by the Federal Reserve for unsafe and unsound practices at Crédit Agricole. The firm did not have sufficient policies and procedures to ensure that activities conducted at its offices outside of the United States complied with U.S. sanctions laws.

The Federal Reserve’s order is being taken in conjunction with actions by the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the New York County District Attorney’s Office, and the New York Department of Financial Services for violations of U.S. sanctions requirements, and various New York state laws. The penalties issued by all of the agencies total $787.3 million.

The Federal Reserve order also prohibits Crédit Agricole from re-employing the individuals involved in the past actions or retaining them as consultants or contractors. The Federal Reserve is also investigating whether enforcement actions are appropriate against these or other individuals who may have been involved in the conduct underlying the enforcement actions against the institution. Crédit Agricole has agreed to cooperate in these investigations, but is not the subject of these investigations.