Barclays fined by U.S watchdog for hiring practices
- Justin Harper
- Topics: Asia-Pacific, Compliance, Home Page - News, News, Recruitment
Barclays Bank has been rapped for violating a federal anti-bribery law by hiring family and friends of foreign officials to help win or retain investment banking business.
The SEC said the civil settlement resolves charges that Barclays’ hiring practices in the region (including China, Hong Kong and South Korea) violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
The British bank agreed to pay a US$1.5 million civil fine, plus US$4.8 million of disgorgement and interest.
The SEC said Barclays hired 117 people between April 2009 and August 2013 who had been referred by or connected to government officials or non-government clients. They were either placed in permanent jobs, its graduate programme, its formal internship program or an unofficial work experience programme.
The SEC also said some Barclays employees falsified records to conceal who was requesting specific hires and the reasons for those requests.
The fine comes three years after JPMorgan agreed to pay US$264 million to settle U.S. regulatory charges into its hiring practices in China, known as the ‘’Sons and Daughters’’ programme.
