Trump Administration Spares Corporate Wrongdoers Billions in Penalties

The Justice Department wanted Walmart to resolve an investigation of bribery in several countries, including India. Discussions became increasingly difficult as the Obama era came to a close. Credit: Kuni Takahashi Getty Images

In the final months of the Obama administration, Walmart was under pressure from federal officials to pay nearly $1 billion and accept a guilty plea to resolve a foreign bribery investigation.

Barclays faced demands that it pay nearly $7 billion to settle civil claims that it had sold toxic mortgage investments that helped fuel the 2008 financial crisis, and the Royal Bank of Scotland was ensnared in a criminal investigation over its role in the crisis.

The three corporate giants complained that the Obama administration was being unreasonable and stood their ground, according to people briefed on the investigations. After President Trump took office, they looked to his administration for a more sympathetic ear — and got one.

View the complete November 3 article by Ben Protess, Robert Gebeloff and Danielle Ivory on The New York Times website here.