The essentials. A U.S. federal jury found BNP Paribas complicit in atrocities in Sudan (October 2025). The bank had already pleaded guilty in the United States in 2014 and paid USD 8.97 billion for violating sanctions targeting Sudan, Iran and Cuba. In France, BNP Paribas and its subsidiary Exane are among five banks raided in March 2023 in the “CumCum” investigation for aggravated laundering of tax fraud — an ongoing case, presumption of innocence applies.
Behind the polished communications of a banking giant lie court decisions, guilty pleas and criminal investigations. Nothing here is opinion: everything is a matter of public record — a filing, a verdict or an investigative act.
Sudan: a U.S. jury finds complicity in atrocities
In October 2025, a federal jury in New York found BNP Paribas civilly liable for facilitating atrocities committed by Omar al-Bashir’s Sudanese regime, in Kashef v. BNP Paribas. The bank was ordered to pay about USD 20.5 million to three Sudanese plaintiffs. According to their lawyers, the verdict opens the door to claims by thousands of other refugees. The allegation: that from 1997 to 2007 the bank acted as Sudan’s “de facto central bank,” channelling funds through Geneva at the height of the Darfur conflict. BNP Paribas disputes the ruling and retains avenues of appeal; at this stage it is a first-instance civil verdict.
2014: the USD 8.97 billion guilty plea
This is not an isolated judicial event. In 2014, BNP Paribas pleaded guilty before U.S. justice and agreed to pay USD 8.97 billion — one of the heaviest penalties ever imposed on a bank — for transferring billions of dollars on behalf of Sudanese, Iranian and Cuban entities under economic sanctions. The link between the two cases is direct: it is that same circumvention mechanism that now underpins the liability found over Sudan.
France: the “CumCum” probe targets BNP Paribas… and Exane
On 28 March 2023, France’s National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) carried out unprecedented raids on five banks: Société Générale, BNP Paribas, Exane (a BNP subsidiary), Natixis and HSBC. At stake: a preliminary investigation into aggravated laundering of aggravated tax fraud, concerning “CumCum” schemes that let non-resident investors avoid tax on French dividends. The operation mobilised sixteen PNF magistrates, 150 investigators and six German prosecutors from Cologne. The investigation is ongoing: no conviction has been handed down, and the presumption of innocence fully applies.
Why this is in the public interest
An institution that has pleaded guilty to sanctions violations, that a foreign jury finds complicit in atrocities, and whose subsidiary features in a large-scale criminal tax-fraud probe, engages the trust of millions of savers and taxpayers. Documenting these proceedings — without exaggerating or distorting them — is what the right to inform is for.
Sources and references
Kashef v. BNP Paribas (S.D.N.Y. / 2d Cir.), October 2025 verdict (Forbes, Hausfeld). 2014 guilty plea (USD 8.97bn, Sudan/Iran/Cuba sanctions), U.S. DoJ. “CumCum” raids of 28 March 2023 targeting BNP Paribas, Exane, Société Générale, Natixis and HSBC (Al Jazeera, La Libre). Branch network to shrink from about 1,500 to ~1,000 by 2030 (MoneyVox).
By Patrick Lancier
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