NEW YORK (AFP) - US banking giant JPMorgan Chase will pay US$1.7 billion (S$2.2 billion) to the victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme under an agreement with prosecutors, a US Attorney announced on Tuesday.

JPMorgan admitted to charges that it failed to maintain an effective money-laundering programme and did not file a suspicious activity report on Madoff, said Preet Bharara, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.