Canadian bank pays £45m to settle Enron case
The Canadian Imperial Banks of Commerce has paid the Securities & Exchange Commission $80m (£45m) to settle claims relating to the Enron accounting scandal.
Link: Enron edifice under the hammer
The SEC had charged CIBC and three of its executives with ‘helping Enron mislead its investors through a series of complex finance transactions over a period of three years’.
Two of the three executives are reported to have settled with the SEC and will pay a total of more than $600,000, according CNNmoney.
CIBC’s settlement is made up of $37.5m in ill-gotten gains, a $37.5m penalty and $5m in interest.
In a statement CIBC president and chief executive John Hunkins said: ‘We are pleased that the actions we have taken will bring to a close these investigations of CIBC.’
The US Department of Justice has decided not to prosecute CIBC ‘with respect to certain transactions involving CIBC and Enron,’ and in response the bank will end certain business activities and adopt new policies and procedures.