Prosecutors drop Quattrone case

Frank Quattrone may now resume his career

Star US banker Frank Quattrone will not stand trial again on obstruction of justice charges after he reached a deal with prosecutors.

Silicon Valley's top banker in the 1990s, Mr Quattrone was prosecuted twice for allegedly blocking a probe into how stock information was shared.

His conviction in 2004 was overturned on appeal earlier this year.

Mr Quattrone, who has maintained his innocence throughout, said he was "very pleased" with the outcome.

No penalties

Under the terms of a "deferred prosecution" agreement approved by a US federal judge, Mr Quattrone will face no penalties unless he violates any state or federal laws within the next 12 months.

Mr Quattrone was accused of hindering an investigation into whether his employer, Credit Suisse First Boston, gave some clients privileged access to technology shares in return for getting other business.

The case revolved around an e-mail he sent to colleagues in 2000 advising them to "clean up" their files.

Quattrone has received the same punishment as someone who smuggled a few Cuban cigars into the US Timothy Coleman Dewey Ballantine's

Mr Quattrone argued that he was merely instructing colleagues to delete obsolete documents in what was standard procedure.

"I am very pleased this case will be concluded and I look forward to the formal dismissal of all charges," he said after Tuesday's decision, adding that he was looking forward to resuming his career.

The decision is a major blow to prosecutors who sought to prove that Mr Quattrone manipulated access to information about newly floated companies, leading investors to subsequently lose money.

"After a thorough investigation it has been determined that the interest of the US and your own interest will best be served by deferring prosecution," the US Attorney General's Office said in a statement.

Under the terms of the agreement, Mr Quattrone must report to officials before travelling abroad and must "associate only with law-abiding persons".

Money raiser

Mr Quattrone raised funding for more than 190 companies during the dotcom boom of the late 1990s, including Amazon.com, Cisco Systems and Netscape.

The jury in the original trial in 2003 was unable to reach a verdict on whether he blocked regulatory and grand jury investigations into how shares in firms were allocated.

One legal expert said the agreement meant Mr Quattrone would escape the "stigma of conviction".

"Quattrone has received the same punishment as someone who smuggled a few Cuban cigars into the US," said Timothy Coleman, co-chairman of the law firm Dewey Ballantine's.