An ongoing investigation targets a Cypriot brokerage firm, in collaboration with one of BNP Paribas' branches, over alleged 'aggravated money laundering.'
ADVERTISEMENTSuspicious investments, managed by French bank BNP Paribas's branch, on behalf of a Cypriot brokerage firm, are under investigation by French and American authorities for alleged 'aggravated money laundering,' French daily Le Monde has reported.
The suspicious financial flows, reportedly more than €220 million, were made between 2019 and 2021.
During that period, T.C.R. International Limited, a financial services company registered in Cyprus, conducted investment transactions for its clients in partnership with BNP Paribas Securities Services.
The Paris prosecutor's office said in a statement, that the transfers were of "possibly dubious origin and/or flows with no explicit economic logic," without mentioning BNP Paribas.
BNP Paribas declined to comment on this specific matter, stating that it had an established global compliance system and that it was dedicated to fulfilling its regulatory responsibilities.
Le Monde reported that the French authorities' focus on T.C.R. International Limited originated from a US investigation involving the former Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in an August plane crash.
The prosecutor's office refrained from publicly addressing any potential connection between Prigozhin and the transfers conducted by the brokerage firm.
In France, aggravated money laundering constitutes a punishable offence carrying a sentence of up to 10 years and a fine of €750,000 or half the laundered assets' value.
