Litigation: In Rare RICO Case, BNP-P Gets Defensive

US Banker, September, 2006 by Karen Krebsbach

Entangled in a civil corruption and racketeering case in U.S. federal court, BNP Paribas stands accused of helping to divert oil revenues from the Republic of Congo's state-owned oil company. Attorneys say this is the first use of the The Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, as modified by the USA Patriot Act of 2001, which gives U.S.

courts jurisdiction over money laundering traceable to foreign governments. The RICO Act was created in the 1970s to fight organized crime, including the Mafia. In June, U.S. Federal Judge Loretta A. Preska in Manhattan denied Paribas's appeal of her decision not to dismiss the case, saying the evidence presented shows "a sufficient amount of activity is alleged to have occurred domestically." The Paris-based bank has 7,500...

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