U.S. banking regulators say that they intend to seek industry bans and fines against two former executives of J.P. Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Ltd. for their alleged participation in a scheme to curry favour with foreign officials by providing jobs and internships to their friends and families.
The U.S. Federal Reserve Board said on Friday that it will seek to fine and prohibit the former managing directors from working in the banking industry “for their participation in a referral hiring program that violated anti-bribery law.”
The Fed says that the former executives, Fang Fang and Timothy Fletcher, allegedly offered internships and other employment opportunities “to individuals referred by foreign officials, clients, and prospective clients in order to obtain improper business advantages in violation of firm policies and U.S. anti-bribery law.”
In addition to prohibiting them permanently from the industry, the Fed says that it is seeking a US$1 million fine against Fang, and a US$500,000 fine against Fletcher.
Last year, the Fed ordered JPMorgan Chase & Co. to pay US$61.9 million in penalties for “control deficiencies related to the firm’s referral hiring practices and anti-bribery policies.” The case against the two former executives stems from that action.