A British bank schemed with the Iranian government to launder $250 billion from 2001 to 2007, leaving the United States' financial system "vulnerable to terrorists," New York's financial regulator charged on Monday.
Benjamin Lawsky, superintendent of State Financial Services, has signed an order that requires London-based Standard Chartered Bank to answer his questions following an investigation into "wire stripping," which is the process of removing crucial identifiers in financial transactions.
The bank conspired with its Iranian clients to route nearly 60,000 different U.S. dollar payments through Standard Chartered's New York branch "after first stripping information from wire transfer messages used to identify sanctioned countries, individuals and entities," according to agency's order.
The bank "developed various ploys that were all designed to generate a new payment message for the New York branch that was devoid of any reference to Iranian clients," according to the order.
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U.K. bank accused of laundering $250B for Iran - World - CBC News
Benjamin Lawsky, superintendent of State Financial Services, has signed an order that requires London-based Standard Chartered Bank to answer his questions following an investigation into "wire stripping," which is the process of removing crucial identifiers in financial transactions.
The bank conspired with its Iranian clients to route nearly 60,000 different U.S. dollar payments through Standard Chartered's New York branch "after first stripping information from wire transfer messages used to identify sanctioned countries, individuals and entities," according to agency's order.
The bank "developed various ploys that were all designed to generate a new payment message for the New York branch that was devoid of any reference to Iranian clients," according to the order.
more
U.K. bank accused of laundering $250B for Iran - World - CBC News