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JPMorgan in $700 mn 'London whale' settlement

NEW YORK CITY (AFP) - JPMorgan Chase will pay at least $700 million in fines as part of a settlement linked to its handling of its "London whale" trading loss, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The Wall Street banking giant is expected to admit guilt as part of the settlement, the Journal said.

JPMorgan's trading fiasco, dubbed the "London whale" because of the location and size of bets that went sour, cost the bank $6.2 billion in losses last year.

"The settlement is related to inaccurate values two former traders in the London outpost of the Chief Investment Office placed on their own transactions," the newspaper said.

"The regulatory actions are expected to be announced this week."

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and other regulators are expected to criticize the giant bank for poor internal controls and supervision of employees involved in the trades, the newspaper said.

Spokespeople for the SEC, the OCC and the US Attorney's Office in New York declined comment. A JPMorgan spokesman declined comment.

The Justice Department in August filed criminal charges against the two former traders involved in the case, alleging the duo kept false records on the trades, committed wire fraud and submitted false US securities filings.

One of the traders, Spanish national Javier Martin-Artajo Rueda, was arrested in Spain in late August.