Cuba criticizes $9B US fine for French bank
Source: Associated Press
Cuba criticizes $9B US fine for French bank
3:35 AM Friday Jul 4, 2014
HAVANA (AP) Havana on Thursday protested U.S. penalties levied against France's largest bank over allegations it processed financial transactions for Cuba and other blacklisted states in violation of U.S. trade sanctions.
In a statement published by Cuban official media, the Foreign Ministry said the penalties "violate the rules of international law and qualify as an extraterritorial and illegal application of American legislation against a foreign entity."
The U.S. Justice Department announced Monday that BNP Paribas had agreed to pay nearly $9 billion to settle the case. Under the deal, the Paris-based bank entered a guilty plea in a New York Court and acknowledged processing billions of dollars in transactions for clients in Cuba, Sudan and Iran.
U.S. prosecutors said the transactions were handled by BNP's New York branch office from at least 2004 through 2012.
"Sanctions are a key tool in protecting U.S. national security interests, but they only work if they are strictly enforced," Attorney General Eric Holder said earlier this week. "If sanctions are to have teeth, violations must be strictly punished."
Read more: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11287306
gussmith
(280 posts)that anything the USA does to protect itself is offensive to some (most) parts of the world.
Richardo
(38,391 posts)dipsydoodle
(42,239 posts)that the US tried to do deal with France. Lower fine if France blocked the delivery of the Mistrals to Russia.
France wouldn't play ball.
Judi Lynn
(160,545 posts)Xolodno
(6,395 posts)genwah
(574 posts)in Miami's Cuban-American community, just as it is everywhere else. However, if the House isn't going to pass a highway bill, much less a comprehensive immigration bill, the last thing we'll see is trade relation reform with Cuba. Which is really too bad, because Cuba "exports" a huge number of primary care and "third world support adaptable" physicians and nurses to other south and central American countries. Think of what TX, MS, GA could do with doctors and nurses trained to provide health care with minimal support on a shoestring budget!