A former Banco Santander SA executive will pay $1.92 million to settle a U.S. lawsuit accusing him of insider trading ahead of a proposed 2010 takeover of Potash Corp of Saskatchewan Inc by mining group BHP Billiton Ltd. The deal with Cedric Cañas Maillard, a former adviser to Banco Santander's chief executive, was disclosed on Friday by Securities and Exchange Commission lawyer Timothy Leiman in a teleconference at the federal court in New York. Cañas agreed to pay $960,806 in penalties and give up an equal amount in improper gains. The settlement requires approval by U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni. The judge froze $3.84 million of Cañas' assets in April, three months after he was acquitted of criminal charges in Spain. Jonathan Buck, a lawyer at Perkins Coie representing Cañas, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In its lawsuit filed last July, the SEC said Cañas learned on Aug. 5, 2010, that Santander was helping Anglo-Australian company BHP Billiton
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