JP Morgan Chase to pay $264 million settlement over China bribes

Banking giant JP Morgan Chase has agreed to pay more than $ 264 million (around Rs 1,794 crore) to resolve allegations that it bribed officials in China by giving prized jobs and internships to friends and relatives, officials announced.

"Awarding prestigious employment opportunities to unqualified individuals in order to influence government officials is corruption, plain and simple," Leslie Caldwell, chief of the US Justice Department's criminal division, said in a statement.

Over a seven-year period, between 2006 and 2013, the bank hired about 200 interns and full-time employees at the request of clients in the region, including nearly 100 referred by government officials at 20 different state-owned businesses in China, according to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which was part of the settlement. The Chinese firms then entered into transactions earning the bank more than $100 million in revenue, according to the SEC.

Since 1977, the United States has criminalised bribing foreign officials to win business under a statute known as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Enforcement of the law has broadened in recent years, with authorities in Washington extending their reach to more industries and scrutinizing a greater range of business practices.