"F...ing Americans" Accuse Standard Chartered of $250B Iran Scheme

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Standard Chartered Bank "schemed with the Government of Iran and hid from regulators roughly 60,000 secret transactions, involving at least $250 billion, and reaping SCB hundreds of millions of dollars in fees," over a nearly 10 year period, according to New York State's Dept. of Financial Services.

The New York State financial regulator has threatened to revoke the license of Standard Chartered to operate in the state pending a formal hearing.

A 27-page order accuses the London-based bank of operating as "a rogue institution." The bank's London-based management is accused of ignoring red flags raised by executives in its New York branch.

In response to a 2006 message from SCB's CEO for the Americas raising concerns about "risk of subjecting management in US and London (e.g. you and I) and elsewhere to personal reputational damages and/or serious criminal liability," SCB's London-based Executive Director is reported to have said "you f---ing Americans. Who are you to tell us, the rest of the world, that we're not going to deal with Iranians."

-- Written by Dan Freed in New York.

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