GFI: Standard Chartered Settlement Insufficient to Deter Illicit Activity at International Banks
August 14th, 2012
WASHINGTON, DC – In response to news today that British bank Standard Chartered PLC settled money laundering allegations with New York regulators by agreeing to pay $340 million in fines and submitting to monitoring, Heather Lowe, legal counsel and director of Government Affairs at Global Financial Integrity, released the following statement:
They say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over-and-over-again and expecting a different result. The settlement today is a prime example of that.
In 2004, Standard Chartered was forced to submit to monitoring by regulators for significant anti-money laundering deficiencies. The recent activity alleged by the New York Department of Financial Services was happening while the first round of monitoring was already in place.
Clearly, monitoring is not an effective response in this case.
Ms. Lowe continued:
A fine is a cost of doing business, especially when it’s $340 million for $250 billion worth of transactions. The question everyone should be asking is, ‘are the people who have been participating in the bank’s illicit activity since 2004—not just the CEO, but also the department managers—still working for the bank and why?’
To schedule an interview with Ms. Lowe, please contact Clark Gascoigne at cgascoigne@gfintegrity.org or +1 202-293-0740 ext. 222.
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See also:
- Global Financial Integrity, “Standard Chartered Allegations Emblematic of Systemic Money Laundering Orchestrated by International Banking Community,” August 8, 2012.
- Read Heather Lowe’s speech, “Players: The Role of Facilitators and Super-Fixers,” given on June 25th, 2012 before The Center for Complex Operations at the National Defense University, Washington DC.
Contact:
Clark Gascoigne
cgascoigne@gfintegrity.org
+1 202-293-0740 ext.222
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Global Financial Integrity (GFI) is a Washington, DC-based research and advocacy organization which promotes transparency in the international financial system.
For additional information please visit www.gfintegrity.org.