Standard Chartered to pay US$1.1 billion to resolve Iran sanctions investigations
- The emerging markets lender has been dogged by regulatory scrutiny in recent years
- Standard Chartered first settled with regulators in 2012 over its financial crime controls
Standard Chartered said on Tuesday that it agreed to pay US$1.1 billion to settle long-running investigations by United States and United Kingdom authorities into its handling of historical transactions by entities with connections to Iran and its financial crime controls.
The settlements would allow the emerging markets lender to move beyond regulatory issues that have dogged it since the bank first reached an agreement with American regulators and prosecutors in 2012 over accusations that it helped conceal thousands of transactions by entities in Iran and other countries facing US sanctions.
Under the terms of the latest settlements, Standard Chartered, one of three banks authorised to issue Hong Kong’s currency notes, would pay US$947 million in monetary penalties to a group of US regulators and prosecutors, including the US Department of Justice, the New York Department of Financial Services and the New York County District Attorney’s office.
It also would pay 102 million pounds (US$133 million) to the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority.
“We are pleased to have resolved these matters and to put these historical issues behind us,” Bill Winters, the Standard Chartered chief executive, said. “The circumstances that led to today's resolutions are completely unacceptable and not representative of the Standard Chartered I am proud to lead today. Fighting financial crime is central to what we do and who we are; we do not tolerate misconduct or lax controls and we will continue to root out any issues that threaten the trust we have built over more than 160 years.”