Standard Chartered Bank, headquartered in London, is facing serious allegations of processing billions of dollars in transactions for entities linked to terrorist groups, according to recent court documents filed in the U.S.
The British banking giant, which avoided prosecution for money laundering charges, allegedly carried out these transactions from 2008 to 2013, in violation of U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran. The total value of these transactions is said to exceed $100 billion.
New evidence in a New York court claims that Standard Chartered processed around $9.6 billion worth of foreign exchange transactions with individuals and organizations identified by the U.S. government as funding terrorist groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, al-Qaeda, and the Taliban. These transactions were conducted through the bank’s New York branch, allegedly using falsified data on the SWIFT international payment system to bypass sanctions.
Despite these serious allegations, Standard Chartered has vehemently denied the claims, stating that the whistleblowers’ assertions have been previously discredited by U.S. authorities.
The controversy dates back to 2012 when the bank was accused of falsifying records to transfer funds for sanctioned entities, including Iran’s Central Bank. At that time, U.K. Chancellor George Osborne, serving in Prime Minister David Cameron’s government, reportedly intervened to prevent U.S. prosecution. As a result, the U.S. Department of Justice decided not to pursue charges against the bank.
While the newly discovered foreign exchange transactions raise further concerns, there is no evidence suggesting that Osborne or Cameron were aware of these transactions at the time of their intervention.
This latest revelation has reopened discussions on financial institutions’ roles in facilitating illicit transactions and the extent of political influence on regulatory decisions.
