WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal judge considering the settlement between Barclays Bank Plc and the Justice Department over criminal charges that the bank violated U.S. trade sanctions called it a "sweetheart deal."
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan said at a hearing on Tuesday that he was concerned about the settlement in which BARCLAYS (BARC.LO)has agreed to pay $298 million to resolve charges over its dealings with banks in Cuba, Iran, Libya, Sudan and Myanmar.
"This is a sweetheart deal," he said, adding that the average American citizen who gets caught robbing a bank does not get a deferred prosecution agreement like Barclays'.
"This concerns the court, and that should concern the government too," Sullivan said.
The judge also questioned whether it amounted to a fine if the bank only paid back the money involved, and he said he wanted fuller answers at another hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
A Justice Department attorney defended the agreement and said the amount of money was "beyond what they earned."
The London-based bank was charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Trading with the Enemy Act as a result of $500 million in illegal transactions from 1995 through 2006, according to court documents filed on Monday.
The United States has imposed sanctions and trade embargoes against Cuba, Iran, Libya, Sudan and Myanmar. Barclays was accused of hiding transactions on behalf of banks in those countries.
The agreement must be approved by the judge.
(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky and James Vicini; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Lisa Von Ahn)
