Standard Charter Bank reaches settlement agreement for apparent U.S. sanctions violations
On 9 April 2019 the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a $639 million agreement with Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), a financial institution headquartered in the United Kingdom. Between June 2009 and May 2014 SCB processed over 9,000 transactions to or through the U.S. which violated OFAC sanctions programs, including those against Burma, Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria. OFAC has determined that SCB did not voluntarily disclose these violations and that this constitutes an egregious case.
This settlement is part of a combined $1.1 billion settlement between SCB and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the New York County District Attorney’s Office, the New York State Department of Financial Services, and the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority.
Additionally, SCB has agreed to pay $18,016,283 to OFAC for violations of the Zimbabwe Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 541. Between May 2009 and July 2013 SCB Zimbabwe processed transactions to or through the U.S. that involved Zimbabwe-related Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) or entities which were owned, 50 percent or more, by Zimbabwe-related SDNs.
To read more about this case please follow the links below:
OFACs Enforcement Information regarding the SCB settlement
