Standard Charter to Cough Up $340 Million to Settle Iranian Money-laundering Charges

London-based bank Standard Chartered PLC has agreed to pay $340 million to the state of New York’s bank regulator to settle charges that the bank hid $250 billion in more than 60,000 transactions for Iranian clients. The charges were brought eight days ago by the New York Superintendent of Financial Services.

The bank has also agreed to appoint a monitor selected by the New York agency to oversee its international transactions and to appoint its own auditors to ensure that the bank complies with US money-laundering laws.

The bank acknowledged that $250 billion of the settlement covers the transactions on behalf of Iranian clients according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The US Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, the US Department of Justice, and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office have also been investigating Standard Chartered’s actions and are not parties to today’s announced settlement. The bank and regulators have been negotiating a settlement since last year.

Paul Ausick