Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau announced today the distribution of funds received from the Swiss bank, Credit Suisse AG.  The funds, totaling $536 million, were received pursuant to a deferred prosecution agreement as part of the settlement of a joint investigation conducted with the U.S. Department of Justice.  The investigation focused on the bank’s criminal conduct in the handling of certain Iranian, Libyan and Sudanese accounts, resulting in the processing of billions of dollars in illegal and banned wire payments through clearing banks in Manhattan.  Half of the total amount, or $268 million, was paid to the District Attorney, and is required by statute to be divided evenly between New York City and New York State.

Mr. Morgenthau said that the investigation lasted over two years and was undertaken with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section. Mr. Morgenthau also recognized the substantial contributions of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, acting in both a supervisory and investigative role, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the United States Department of the Treasury, which also discovered the bank’s misconduct and conducted their own parallel investigations. Mr. Morgenthau praised the cooperation and coordination of the three agencies with the District Attorney’s Office, noting that the successful completion of the investigation was a reflection of their mutual hard work and commitment, and thanked both the Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Bank for their support of the criminal investigation.

Mr. Morgenthau stated, “Now more than ever we need to be tough on Iran to deter and interdict their nuclear and ballistics missile aspirations.  The best way to be tough with Iran is to have tough sanctions.  And sanctions only work if they are enforced and people realize there will be a price to pay for helping Iran.  We have supported the excellent work of OFAC and the Department of Justice, and it is my hope and belief that these relationships and important investigations will continue under my successor, Cy Vance.” 

Today’s transfer of funds to the City and State is the second major distribution of funds by the District Attorney this year, coming nine months after the transfer earlier this year of over $200 million recognized from the investigation and settlement with Lloyds TSB for conduct similar to that of Credit Suisse ($350 million), and over $100 million realized as fines and penalties from the prosecution of Tyco executives Dennis Kozlowski and Mark Swartz.  Mr. Morgenthau noted that his office had turned over this year about $320 million to the City and another $255 million to the State, both from these cases, as well as a variety of tax evasion, fraud, and other criminal cases.  “Not a bad year’s work, especially when tax revenues are down and local and state agencies are scrambling for funds.  These cases are difficult, time consuming, and expensive, but in the end they are important not only in terms of bringing in funds, but more importantly, to make sure the laws are enforced and we shine a light on areas of corruption and white collar crime.”

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