2 Mexican Banks to Plead Guilty in Laundering Case
|
|
Two of Mexico’s biggest banks have agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges of money laundering, officials said today, bringing a swift end to the most important legal cases stemming from a major investigation into the movement of illegal drug profits. Officials said the banks, Grupo Financiero Bancomer S.A. and Grupo Financiero Serfin S.A., will forfeit millions of dollars seized by the Government and pay fines of $500,000 each. In return for their pleas, which are to be entered in United States District Court here on Tuesday, the banks will probably be allowed to continue doing business in the United States, the officials said. The outcome is a triumph for a group of Federal prosecutors, Justice Department officials and the United States Customs Service who resisted strong pressure from both the Mexican Government and the banks to have the criminal charges dropped. Officials said the Mexican campaign included appeals to Attorney General Janet Reno and other Justice Department officials by senior Mexican officials and by James R. Jones, a Washington lawyer for one of the banks who served as the United States Ambassador to Mexico during the undercover Customs investigation. More : query.nytimes.com |