As federal prosecutors try to gain judicial approval of a $298 million settlement of allegations that Barclays global investment bank violated United States sanctions in five different countries, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-8) today praised Federal District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan who called the settlement a “sweetheart deal.”

 “I applaud Judge Sullivan for declaring from the bench what I have been saying in Congress for more than two years: we have two systems of justice in the United States – one for Wall Street and another for Main Street. If your pockets are deep enough, you can violate federal laws and even foreign trade regulations and never spend a minute behind bars,” said Pascrell, a House Ways and Means Committee member who introduced the Accountability in Deferred Prosecution Act last year. “The judge’s comments affirm the need to pass the tighter restrictions on the Department of Justice’s use of deferred prosecutions. This is a matter of national priority. We are either going to live by the laws of our land or we won’t.”

Reportedly, court documents were filed this week that allege Barclays engaged in illegal transactions from 1995 to 2006 that netted the bank $500 million. The transactions were allegedly with Cuba, Iran, Libya, Sudan and Myanmar – all nations against which the United States has imposed trade sanctions or embargoes. The transactions violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and Trading with the Enemy Act.

Barclays is the owner of the Barclays Center arena, the basketball centerpiece of the Atlantic Yards redevelopment project in Brooklyn, N.Y.

In April 2009, Rep. Pascrell joined with Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ-6), Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA-39) and Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law Steve Cohen to reintroduce the Accountability in Deferred Prosecution Act.  “The Department of Justice continues to demonstrate an over-reliance on the use of deferred prosecution agreements, which makes the need to pass reforms as seen in the Accountability in Deferred Prosecution Act as necessary as ever.  The American people deserve to know who is on their side and not simply read about another closed-door agreement with corporations in the papers,” concluded Pascrell.

1)  Real Guidelines on Deferred Prosecution Agreements- Requires the Attorney General to provide public written guidelines for deferred prosecution agreements and nonprosecution agreements in order to promote uniformity and to assist prosecutors and organizations as they negotiate and implement deferred prosecution agreements and nonprosecution agreements.

2)   Restore Judicial Oversight of Deferred Prosecution Agreements- Requires government prosecutors to file each and every deferred prosecution agreement in an appropriate United States district court, which must then approve the actual agreement between the parties.

3)   Take the Selection of Federal Monitors Out of the Hands of U.S. Attorneys- Sets forth rules for an open, public, and competitive process for the selection of such monitors through the creation of a national list of organizations and individuals who have the expertise and specialized skills necessary to serve as independent monitors.

4)   Require Full Disclosure of Deferred Prosecution Agreements- Requires the Attorney General to place the text of these agreements on the public website of the Department of Justice, together with all the terms and conditions of any agreement or understanding between an independent monitor appointed pursuant to that agreement and the organization monitored.

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