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JPMorgan Agrees to Pay $330M to Resolve 1MDB AML Allegations

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Key Takeaways

  • JPMorgan agreed to pay $330M to resolve 1MDB-related allegations tied to money laundering.
  • The penalty involves $217.4M in transfers handled in Switzerland between 2014 and 2015.
  • The payout goes to Malaysia's Assets Recovery Trust Account, with all appeals withdrawn.

JPMorgan (JPM - Free Report) has agreed to pay $330 million to settle ongoing and potential claims associated with the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund.

The settlement was announced as Swiss regulators, in a separate action, found the U.S. bank guilty and imposed a fine for its failure to prevent money laundering in transactions associated with 1Malaysia Development Berhad.

Details of JPMorgan’s Matter

The penalty is related to around $217.4 million in international transfers handled by JPMorgan in Switzerland from October 2014 to July 2015, connected to oil trades that were supposedly backed by the Saudi government.

Two businessmen involved in the 1MDB PetroSaudi venture were convicted in a Swiss criminal court last year on charges of fraud, criminal mismanagement and money laundering.

In 2021, 1MDB sued JPMorgan’s unit, as well as subsidiaries of Deutsche Bank (DB - Free Report) and NatWest’s private bank Coutts, seeking to recover losses from the fund. The case accused the firms of “negligence, breach of contract, conspiracy to defraud or cause harm, and/or dishonest assistance.”
 
Malaysia demanded $800 million from JPMorgan’s part in the case, according to court filings.

JPMorgan’s $330 million payout will contribute to Malaysia’s Assets Recovery Trust Account and comes “without admission of liability” from the bank. As part of the settlement, JPMorgan and Malaysia will withdraw all pending appeals connected with the lawsuit.

JPMorgan stated, “We appreciate the collaboration with the Malaysian government in resolving past matters related to 1MDB, which have been thoroughly reviewed. Since then, we’ve enhanced our controls, earning the trust of regulators in Switzerland and beyond.”

Similarly, in December 2024, Deutsche Bank’s broker-dealer subsidiary, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., was hit with a $4 million penalty by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fine was levied due to Deutsche Bank’s failure to promptly file certain Suspicious Activity Reports as mandated by the Bank Secrecy Act. These rules are issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

JPMorgan’s Price Performance & Zacks Rank

Over the past six months, JPM shares have gained 14.5% compared with the industry’s growth of 15.7%.

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Currently, JPMorgan sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Litigations Faced by Other Finance Firms

Earlier this month, ICICI Bank (IBN - Free Report) was charged a monetary penalty of INR7.5 million ($85,479) by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for non-compliance with regulatory requirements.

The penalty was imposed on IBN for not complying with certain RBI guidelines related to the “Valuation of Properties - Empanelment of Valuers” and the “Opening of Current Accounts by Banks – Need for Discipline.”

Similarly, UBS Group AG (UBS - Free Report) agreed to pay $300 million to the United States Department of Justice DOJ to resolve a legacy matter related to the mis-selling of mortgage-linked investments by Credit Suisse in the United States.

On Aug. 1, 2025, UBS-owned Credit Suisse Securities (“USA”) LLC agreed to settle all Credit Suisse’s outstanding consumer relief obligations under the 2017 settlement for its residential mortgage-backed securities business.

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