Money laundering allegations damage Standard Chartered stocks

Published:  7 Aug at 12 PM

Standard Chartered bank has been accused by the US of laundering billions of dollars of money from Iran over the past decade even though many of the Iranian institutions the bank was dealing with were subject to US sanctions.

According to the New York State Department of Financial Services up to $250 billion has been laundered and Standard Chartered is guilty of hiding 60,000 transactions. Although Standard Chartered has denied the allegations the bank has seen its stocks fall 7.5 per cent to HK$174.

Regulators in the US are now asking Standard Chartered to explain why it broke the law and are planning a formal hearing where financial penalties will be discussed. The authorities are also looking at whether the bank will have its operating license revoked in the US.

Standard Chartered has already said that it has been reviewing its transactions relating to Iran and has been sharing its findings with US regulators adding that nearly all complied with U-turn regulations.

The allegations against Standard Chartered follow an accusation by the US Senate that HSBC had laundered money coming from Iran and from drug cartels in Mexico. Regulators are currently looking into evidence which points to similar money laundering operations in other countries which are currently subject to US sanctions including Libya, Sudan and Burma.