僱用中國權貴子女 摩根大通在海外反腐案中認罰

Vying for lucrative deals in China, JPMorgan Chase deployed all the usual wining-and-dining tactics that big banks use to woo clients.

爲了在中國獲得利潤豐厚的交易，摩根大通(JPMorgan Chase)部署了大銀行常常用來吸引客戶的各種餐飲招待策略。

JPMorgan, federal authorities now say, also had ways of sweetening the deal that crossed a legal line.

聯邦當局現在說，摩根大通還有辦法把跨越法律界限的交易洗白。

Federal prosecutors and regulators announced on Thursday a settlement of roughly $264 million with the bank and its Hong Kong subsidiary, accusing them of a vast foreign bribery scheme that may have spread to a number of Wall Street banks.

本週四，聯邦檢察官和監管機構宣佈與該銀行及其香港子公司達成約2.64億美元的和解協議，他們指控摩根大通在境外大量行賄，而且可能波及華爾街的其他銀行。

The case centered on JPMorgan’s hiring practices in China, where it hired the children of Chinese leaders to win business in the fast-growing nation.

該案集中在摩根大通在中國的招聘工作上，該銀行聘用了中國領導者的子女在這個快速增長的國家贏得業務。

Some of the well-connected candidates were unqualified, the authorities said, and often performed ancillary work — telltale signs of hidden bribery.

當局說，一些有着優越社會關係的候選人其實並不合格，而且經常執行輔助工作——顯示了暗中行賄的跡象。

The case could lay the groundwork for the authorities to pursue penalties against other big banks as well.

該案可爲當局對其他大銀行進行懲罰打下了基礎。

Banks including HSBC, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank have hinted that they face investigations into their hiring practices in China as part of a larger sweep by the agency that began in 2013

包括匯豐銀行(HSBC)、高盛(Goldman Sachs)和德意志銀行(Deutsche Bank)等銀行暗示，他們在中國的招聘活動正在面臨調查，這是從2013年開始的一個大清查行動的組成部分。

We do not expect this to be the last action resulting from that sweep, Andrew J.

我們不認爲這是此次大清查產生的最後一個行動。

Ceresney, the head of enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission, told reporters on Thursday.

證券交易委員會執行主管安德魯•J•塞雷斯尼（Andrew J. Ceresney）本週四對記者說。

It is unclear what will happen to the investigation under the president-elect, Donald. J. Trump. Mr Ceresney and other officials who led the investigation are expected to leave the government in the coming weeks.

在當選總統唐納德•J•特朗普(Donald J. Trump)治下，這宗調查會怎樣發展目前還不清楚。塞雷斯尼和其他領導調查的官員預計將在未來數週內離開政府崗位。

In the investigation of JPMorgan, it was not immediately apparent whether the bank would be accused of carrying out a quid pro quo arrangement, an issue at the heart of whether JPMorgan violated United States law governing foreign bribery.

在對摩根大通的調查中，該銀行是否會被指控進行了利益交換安排現在還看不出來，那是摩根大通是否違反了美國頒佈的外國賄賂法的核心問題。

The bank argued that the hiring of well-connected employees was routine in China, and that its own hires fell into a gray area of foreign bribery laws.

該銀行認爲，在中國僱用有良好人脈的員工是種慣常的做法，是公司自己的員工陷入了外國賄賂法的一個灰色地帶。

But the prosecutors and regulators say that as JPMorgan hired more and more candidates based on referrals from Chinese leaders, senior bankers in several instances explicitly tied those jobs or internships to securing deals with Chinese government-run companies.

但檢察官和監管機構表示，摩根大通聘用了越來越多的由中國領導者推薦的求職者，在幾個案例中，高級銀行主管明確將那些工作或實習崗位聯繫到與中國政府運營的公司達成交易上。

To be hired, a referred candidate had to have, in the bank’s own words, a directly attributable linkage to business opportunity, a scheme that enabled the company to win or retain business resulting in more than $100 million in revenue for the bank or its affiliates, prosecutors and regulators said.

用摩根大通自己的話來說，推薦來的求職者要想被聘用，就必須擁有與商業機會的直接聯繫，檢察官和監管機構表示，該公司通過這種做法來贏得或保住業務，爲它及其附屬機構帶來超過1億美元的營收。

The common refrain that this is simply how business is done overseas is no defense, said Robert L. Capers, the United States attorney in Brooklyn, whose office helped lead the criminal investigation into the bank.

人們通常認爲這只是在海外開展業務時的做法，但這不能成爲爲它辯護的理由。

This is no longer business as usual; it is corruption.

這不再是正常的做生意，這是腐敗。