After striking a deal with federal prosecutors, JPMorgan Chase has a agreed to pay $1.7 billion to the victims of Bernard Madoff's multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme.
The bank will be criminally charged with two violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and will admit to the violations. But under the agreement, the bank will receive a deferred prosecution.
The U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York said the payment is the "largest ever bank forfeiture and largest ever [Department of Justice] penalty for a Bank Secrecy Act violation."
The deal is still subject to court approval.
Madoff, if you remember, was sentenced to 150 years behind bars back in 2009. He was found guilty of stealing about $13 billion from hundreds of investors.
As The New York Times notes, this settlement is "emblematic of a broader problem among giant global banks: ignoring the warning signs of fraud."
This case follows a $1.9 billion money laundering settlement with HSBC and it is the latest payout from Chase to the U.S. government.
The Times reports that before this settlement, JPMorgan Chase had already agreed to pay $13 billion to "the Justice Department and other authorities over its sale of questionable mortgage securities in the lead up to the financial crisis."