At the end of last week, a French appeals court dismissed an appeal filed the public prosecutor against the decision not to indict eight banks, including Banque Leumi France, for money laundering.
The affair came to light several years ago, when dozens of fabric traders in a French garment district were suspected of using French banks for money laundering.
Several months ago, the examining magistrate decided not to put the eight banks on trial. The banks included Banque Leumi France and Societe Generale, France’s largest bank. The prosecutor filed an appeal against the decision, but the court upheld the examining magistrate's ruling.
A Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI) spokesperson said in response that Banque Leumi France was suspected only of technical violations, and that the bank did not deliberately commit money laundering. Bank Leumi recently decided to close down its French branch, saying that the measure was a business decision.
(Corrects article published June 20, 2004).
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on June 21, 2004