Standard Chartered may face suspension in New York State

Standard Chartered may lose its license to operate in the state of New York, according to the New York State Department of Financial Services.

For almost ten years, Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) schemed with the Government of Iran and hid from regulators roughly 60,000 secret transactions, involving at least $250bn, reaping the lender hundreds of millions of dollars in fees. Standard Chartered Bank's actions left the U.S. financial system vulnerable to terrorists, weapons dealers, drug kingpins and corrupt regimes, and deprived law enforcement investigators of crucial information used to track all manner of criminal activity.

"Having determined that good cause exists," the regulator goes on to say, "the Superintendent has directed SCB to:

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(1) appear and explain apparent violations of law;

(2) demonstrate why SCB's license to operate in the State of New York should not be revoked;

(3) demonstrate why SCB's U.S. dollar clearing operations should not be suspended pending a formal license revocation hearing;

"(4) and submit to and pay for an independent, on-premises monitor of the Department's selection to ensure compliance with rules governing the international transfer of funds."

AB