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BNP Paribas in the dock No way to treat a criminal 不该这样对待罪犯
译者@wendy220 WHAT is the appropriate penalty for a firm that abets genocide? Roughly a year’s profit and the sacking of a dozen employees, the American authorities concluded this week. At any rate, that is the punishment meted out to BNP Paribas, a French bank that pleaded guilty to helping the Sudanese government sell oil, clearing proceeds through New York in violation of American sanctions. At the time government-backed militias in the region of Darfur were massacring civilians by the tens of thousands. 对一个辅助大屠杀的企业，怎样的处罚是适当的呢？本周美国当局裁定，对法巴银行罚以其一年的收益并裁去它12名员工，无论如何，这就是对这家法国银行的处罚。法巴银行被控帮助苏丹通过纽约清算石油收益——与此同时，政府支持的民兵组织正在达尔富尔地区屠杀成千上万的平民——这违反了美国的制裁令，银行对此供认不讳。 In spite of French politicians’ predictable squeals, it is hard to feel any sympathy for BNP. The bank played a pivotal role in fostering a monstrous regime. Most of the money it helped channel to Sudan went to the army, which in turn used the cash to finance rape and pillage. In the immediate aftermath of the crisis in Darfur, in 2006, BNP’s Swiss branch held around half of Sudan’s foreign-currency assets. Sudan’s president later became the first sitting national leader to be charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court. 可想而知，法国政客连连叫屈。尽管如此，我们也很难同情法巴银行，因为它在建立残暴政权中起到了重要作用。银行转到苏丹的资金大多到了军队手中，军队又用这些金钱助长士兵奸淫掳掠。紧随2006年达尔富尔危机过后的一段时间内，法巴银行的瑞士分行掌管了近一半的苏丹外币资产。苏丹总统随后成为了第一个被国际刑事法院控以战争罪的在任国家领导。 But the guilt of a suspect and the justice of a cause do not make a tribunal fair. And America’s system for pursuing errant banks, especially foreign ones, is anything but fair. This case, like most, did not go to court. BNP negotiated a settlement with regulators and prosecutors rather than risk a trial. No doubt the ugliness of its crimes played a role. But even if it had had a better case, BNP would have had little choice but to settle. Defeat in court might have led to the loss of its American banking licence—a death sentence for a big international bank. America’s prosecutors can also wield the threat of criminal charges against individual bankers. 但是嫌疑人有罪和事业正义并不意味着判决公正。美国司法对违法银行——特别是国外违法银行——的判决绝非公正。此案和大多数案件一样没有诉诸法庭。法巴银行选择了和监管者及公诉人进行庭外和解，而非冒对铺公堂之险。无疑，其罪行之恶劣是因素之一。但即使情况对银行更为有利，除了和解它也别无选择。如若败诉，法巴银行的美国银行业执照可能被吊销，这对大型国际银行来说相当于是判了死刑。美国检察官也可以利用刑事指控威胁银行家个人。 Bank against the wall Not only were BNP’s tormentors, such as Benjamin Lawsky, New York’s politically ambitious banking regulator, able more or less to dictate their terms, they also had an incentive to make the fine as big as possible because the agencies involved divvied up much of it among themselves. Mr Lawsky’s outfit gets $2 billion, four times its annual budget, which it will triumphantly deposit in New York state’s depleted coffers. 折磨法巴银行的监管者们——比如政治野心宏大的纽约银行业监管者本杰明.劳斯基（Benjamin Lawsky）——不仅多多少少地能够决定对银行的处罚办法，而且很有动力使对银行罚款的数额达到可能的最大值，因为多数罚款是被相关机构瓜分的。劳斯基的机构获得了20亿美元，是其年均预算的四倍，该机构将会得意洋洋地把这笔钱存入纽约空虚的金库中。 There are no meaningful checks on this process, let alone a plausible procedure for BNP to appeal. Bank bosses cannot even publicly criticise deals they agree to under extreme duress. No precedent is set and no guidance provided as to the limits of the law and the proportionality of the punishment. 上述过程不受监管，法巴银行也就更不必奢望上诉了。银行行长甚至不能公开批评他们在极度威胁下同意的条款。至于法律有什么限制、处罚的轻重怎样，既没有先例也没有参考。 So even if BNP fully deserves its punishment, the legal system that meted it out is closer to an extortion racket than justice. France’s economy minister, Arnaud Montebourg, has compared America’s pursuit of BNP to “economic warfare”. In other words, a bank that catered to mass murderers has had some success in portraying itself as a victim. Any process that can make BNP’s dealings with Sudan look anything less than shameful must be very flawed indeed. 即使法巴银行完全罪有应得，审判它的法律系统仍更像是在敲诈勒索而非公正司法。法国经济部长阿诺德.蒙特布尔（Arnaud Montebourg）把美国对法巴银行的追责与“经济战争”相比较。换句话说，辅助凶手的银行在把自己塑造成受害者方面获得了些许成功。能使法巴银行与苏丹的交易看上去不那么耻辱的程序一定是错漏百出的。 From the print edition: Leaders |
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