Standard Chartered accused of illegal operations with Iran

The US has accused Standard Chartered, one of the largest British banks, of illegal operations with Iran and money laundering around $250 billion, BBC reports.

The financial department of New York said that the bank has been doing such operations for about 10 years despite international sanctions against Iran. The bank’s shares dropped by 7%.

The US have been investigating the case for 10 years. Inspectors say that Standard Chartered falsified inter-bank payments, replacing Iran with a fake client. US regulators say that the bank’s staff had instructions about such operations. The bank used clients in Burma, Libya and Sudan.

The US Senate had hearings in mid-July with HSBC, another British bank. The bank was accused of working with terrorists and Mexican drug dealers.