JPMorgan Chase has been under investigation for the past 3 years, by Federal authorities in the USA, to ascertain whether the bank engaged in bribery at its offices in Hong Kong and China.
More specifically, the issue at hand, was whether the bank hired children of powerful people/officials, in order to win business/deals.
Some examples include:
- Hiring the son of the Chairman at China Everbright Group, a government controlled conglomerate, after which JPMorgan Chase won several big deals from the organisation.
- The daughter of a senior railway official being hired in JPMorgan’s Hong Kong office. Around that time, the bank was selected to take China Railway public and raise over $5 billion.
The Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of Currency, have reached the conclusion that JPMorgan Chase violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which makes it illegal to bribe a foreign government official.
It is estimated that the amount the bank could pay to settle this issue is around $200 million.