Commerzbank AG and government lawyers gained federal court approval of a $1.45b agreement to defer prosecuting the lender for violating US laws, including sanctions on doing business with some countries. Under the accord, Germany’s second-largest lender will pay penalties to government agencies including the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department. The Frankfurt-based bank conceded the allegations, which included aiding accounting fraud at Olympus Corp. The bank and its New York unit must continue reforms of its anti-money laundering compliance program and cooperate with the government for three years before charges against it are dropped.
