BNP Paribas to Suffer Dollar-Clearing Ban for Violating Sanctions

BNP Paribas is expected to plead guilty today in a New York federal court to violating U.S. sanctions against blacklisted nations including Sudan, Iran and Cuba. As a result, France's largest bank will pay a record fine of nearly $9 billion and suffer penalties including a year-long ban on dollar-clearing. Its fine stands to be the largest penalty paid by a European bank for violating U.S. sanctions. BNP Paribas is expected to retain its banking license from the New York state banking regulator. The bank won a six-month delay to prepare for the dollar-clearing ban, which is now expected to begin in January 2015.