Block Reaches $964 Million DOJ Pact Pending Court Approval

Block has reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to resolve an anti-money laundering investigation at an expected cost of about $964 million, subject to court approval.

Block disclosed the agreement in a Tuesday regulatory filing, saying it had reached an agreement in principle with the DOJ in October. The proposed three-year deferred prosecution agreement would pause prosecution over DOJ allegations that Block failed to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program and violated the Bank Secrecy Act. A court must approve the pact before the deferral takes effect.

The filing put the net payment at roughly $764 million, matching a provision Block had raised to that level by the end of September. The company had set aside $526 million at the end of June, before increasing the provision three months later. The sequence shows that Block’s provision increased between June and September, ahead of disclosure of the agreement in principle.