Transparency International France suspends BNP Paribas membership

French version available here.

In a deal with American authorities on 30 June, BNP Paribas accepted that its oil and gas commodity-trading business willingly concealed illegal transactions of several billion dollars with Sudan, Cuba and Iran between 2004 and 2012.

Transparency International France believes the activities brought to light in the deal of 30 June are extremely serious. Measures designed to deliberately conceal the real beneficiary of illegal transactions are aspects of money laundering condemned by our organisations for many years. This case has also brought to light serious failures of control and supervision at the bank’s headquarters.

Given the facts accepted by BNP Paribas, Transparency International France believes that the bank has not fulfilled its commitment to transparency and integrity throughout its activities, as promised when they joined in 2003. Transparency International France has therefore decided to suspend BNP Paribas’ membership.

This decision can be reviewed in future if the company can demonstrate that it has fully rectified the serious gaps identified.

Transparency International has for several years called for all governments to strictly punish the sort of money laundering seen in this case. It has also called on all banks who could have used such practices to put measures in place to prevent such activities as a matter of urgent priority.

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