It’s an endless loop. Threaten to bring criminal charges, haggle for months and then announce a giant settlement costing the bank’s shareholders billions. And yet spare the financial institution itself from criminal indictment and avoid jury trials, convictions and possible jail time for the people who allegedly committed those crimes in the first place.
Nonetheless, the settlement with Citigroup and the criminal charges agreed to by BNP Paribas will put billions of dollars into the Treasury and state governments, especially New York — and law-enforcement agencies will benefit the most.
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