The US Department of Justice has requested the release of correspondence between the bank and the law firms. It reportedly wishes to know whether the firms ‘improperly advised’ Standard Chartered during an investigation by US regulators, which was a result of allegations that the bank concealed around 60,000 transactions for Iranian clients totalling $250bn between 2001 and 2007.
DPA negotiated
Slaughters advised the London-based bank from the UK during the probe, while Sullivan & Cromwell led advice from New York. Both firms negotiated a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the US Department of Justice, the New York County District Attorney’s Office, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Prove reopened
A $667m settlement was reached in 2012. Initially, the deal initially closed the investigation into certain accounts handled by the bank, which were subject to US sanctions. However, US prosecutors reopened the probe in 2014 to examine claims the bank withheld evidence of the sanctions violations. Source: The Lawyer
.
Email your news and story ideas to: [email protected]
