Credit Agricole agrees to pay $103 million fine in dividend tax case

PARIS (Reuters) -Credit Agricole SA's <CAGR.PA> investment banking division has agreed to pay a fine of 88.2 million euros ($103.4 million) to settle a criminal probe into dividend-arbitrage trades allegedly used to avoid withholding taxes, a French judge said on Monday.  

The settlement has still to be approved by the judge Peimane Ghaleh Marzban, who presented the terms of the settlement at a court hearing in Paris. 

The fine would allow Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CACIB) to put an end to the criminal probe into so-called "cum-cum" transactions. These were aimed at helping foreign shareholders of French companies to avoid the country's taxes on dividends via complex financial instruments. 

In France, companies accused of financial misconduct such as corruption or tax fraud can settle with prosecutors to avoid trial.

The agreement typically involves paying a fine and committing to compliance measures, without admitting guilt or receiving a criminal conviction, as long as the deal is approved by a judge.

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(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain, Editing by Dominique Vidalon and Tommy Reggiori Wilkes)