After coming in for heavy criticism for hiding a series of transactions with Iranian financial institutions, Standard Chartered has paid off regulators in New York.
The US has strict economic sanctions on the Iranian regime, and the New York Department of Financial Services last week said that the Hong Kong based bank had infringed these sanctions after uncovering details of around $250bn of transactions with Iran.
Although the bank claims that the deals only amounted to $14m, it says it is willing to pay the “civic penalty” in order to move on. In a brief statement the bank said: “A formal agreement containing the detailed terms of the settlement is expected to be concluded shortly.”
Shares in the bank plummeted over 20 percent after the accusations were made last week, but have rallied this morning upon news of the settlement, going up 5.5 percent to HK$175.
In a statement last week, the New York regulator was vociferous in its condemnation of the bank: “Motivated by greed, Standard Chartered acted for at least 10 years without any regard for the legal, reputational and national security consequences of its flagrantly deceptive actions.
“Led by its most senior management, Standard Chartered designed and implemented an elaborate scheme by which to use its New York branch as a front for prohibited dealings with Iran – dealings that indisputably helped sustain a global threat to peace and stability.”
