New York, Safar 18, 1438, November 18, 2016, SPA -- US banking giant JPMorgan and its Hong Kong-based subsidiary will pay 264 million dollars in penalties for a scheme to hire the children and friends of influential Chinese officials, the US Justice Department (DOJ) said Thursday, according to dpa. According to the DOJ, Hong Kong-based bankers started the practice in 2006. "The so-called Sons and Daughters Program was nothing more than bribery by another name," US Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell said in a statement. "Awarding prestigious employment opportunities to unqualified individuals in order to influence government officials is corruption, plain and simple." According to the US officials, saying that the practice was commonplace overseas was no defence. "This is no longer business as usual; it is corruption," they said. The largest part of the penalty, 130.5 million dollars, will be paid to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the stock market regulator. The rest will go to Justice Department and the Federal Reserve. --SPA 01:10 LOCAL TIME 22:10 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w271838