News
Standard Chartered: UK bank accused of helping finance terrorists
Image caption, Standard Chartered Bank is headquartered in the City of LondonArticle information
- Author, Andy Verity
- Paper, BBC News
-
June 4, 2024, 01:33 BST
A British bank that escaped prosecution for money laundering carried out billions of dollars in transactions for financiers of terrorist groups, US court documents allege.
Standard Chartered, one of the UK’s biggest banks, avoided prosecution by the US Department of Justice after Lord Cameron’s government intervened on its behalf in 2012.
New documents presented to a New York court claim that thousands of transactions worth more than $100 billion were carried out by the bank between 2008 and 2013, in violation of sanctions against Iran.
An independent expert identified $9.6 billion in foreign exchange transactions with individuals and companies designated by the US government as financiers of “terrorist groups,” including Hezbollah, Hamas, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
In a statement, the bank said it disputes the whistleblowers’ claims, saying their previous claims have been “completely discredited” by US authorities.
Sanctions violated
Standard Chartered was publicly accused of falsifying transaction data on Swift – an international payments system used by thousands of financial institutions – to move billions of dollars through its New York branch on behalf of sanctioned entities such as the Central Bank of Iran.
But in September 2012, George Osborne, then chancellor in Lord Cameron’s government, secretly intervened on the bank’s behalf.
Three months later, the US Department of Justice decided not to prosecute the bank.
The foreign exchange transactions identified in the court records have not yet been revealed and it is not suggested that Mr Osborne or Lord Cameron had any knowledge of these transactions at the time.
The bank twice admitted to violating sanctions against Iran and other countries – first in 2012 It is then in 2019 – pay fines totaling more than $1.7 billion. But he did not admit to carrying out transactions for “terrorist” organizations.
The transactions were hidden in confidential banking spreadsheets first handed over to US authorities in 2012 by two whistleblowers, including a former Standard Chartered executive, Julian Knight.
They allege that US government agencies made false statements in court so that their whistleblower reward request was rejected.
US authorities involved in the bank’s investigation successfully requested the dismissal of its case in 2019. An FBI agent argued in court that he showed nothing that “indicated or suggested that the bank had engaged in improper transactions in US dollars” after 2007.
US authorities argued that the whistleblower’s allegations “did not lead to the discovery of any new… violations” and the court found the case “without merit.”
However, an independent analysis by an expert with decades of experience in counter-terrorism financing, including in the US Department of Defense (DoD) and the private sector, David Scantling, contradicts this.
In a court filing last Friday, he claims the spreadsheets contain records of more than half a million separate transactions between 2008 and 2013 that were “disguised,” meaning they were not immediately visible in the spreadsheets but could be extracted. through a simple technique and well-known by analysts in your field.
Its statement says that among the records are numerous Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) transactions, “with or on behalf of Iranian banks, Iranian companies and Middle Eastern exchange houses which, according to [the US government]finance designated foreign terrorist organizations.”
Image caption David Scantling has experience examining illicit banking transactions
He says the SCB processed transactions for a bank representing the Central Bank of Iran after it claimed to have halted its Iranian operations in 2007.
This happened at the same time the country was borrowing an average of $2 billion a day from the Term Auction Facility, an emergency program created by the US government to support banks during the 2007-2009 global financial crisis.
“The newly extracted data simply cannot be reconciled with the government’s representations to the court in this matter that the [whistleblowers’ evidence] contains no evidence of undisclosed sanctions violations,” Scantling’s statement reads.
The transactions include those of a Pakistani fertilizer company, Fatima Fertiliser, known for selling explosive materials that were used by the Taliban in roadside bombs that killed or maimed thousands of UK and US troops in Afghanistan.
Liverpool FC’s shirt sponsor SCB also facilitated 73 transactions for a Gambian shell company owned by a major Hezbollah financier, Mohammad Ibrahim Bazzi, the documents allege.
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption, Standard Chartered is the main shirt sponsor of Liverpool FC
Daniel Alter, former general counsel for the New York Department of Financial Services who first sued SCB for sanctions violations, called the new disclosures “shocking” and “exponentially worse” than the bank admitted in 2012.
“This shows a frightening link not only to commercial entities, but also to terrorist organizations, terrorist front companies for organizations like Hamas, Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda, the Taliban – things that are a regulator’s nightmare – and not we knew this: it was never disclosed to us. And that wasn’t apparent in the data we had,” Alter told the BBC. “It’s a totally different story.”
SCB, headquartered in London, primarily serves clients in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
When Osborne secretly intervened on the bank’s behalf, it risked criminal prosecution for money laundering by the US Department of Justice.
On September 10, 2012, Osborne wrote to Ben Bernanke, then chairman of the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, and then US President Barack Obama’s Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. He met them the following month.
Two months later, the bank was fined $300 million but escaped prosecution with a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA), a form of probation for companies. No individual bank executives were prosecuted.
The same month, Knight approached US authorities with evidence that the bank’s misconduct was far worse than it had admitted and continued after 2007.
In 2019, the SCB agreed a new DPA in relation to transactions between 2007 and 2011 and was fined a further $1.1 billion.
‘Without merit’
Both the FBI and the US Department of Justice declined to comment. Neither Lord Cameron nor Mr Osborne have commented officially.
The SCB said it is “confident that the courts will reject these claims.” It stated that US authorities had previously concluded that the whistleblowers’ allegations were “without merit” and “did not show any violations of US sanctions”.
But the whistleblowers claim that U.S. authorities committed “a colossal fraud on this court by falsely denying” that the whistleblowers provided “previously unknown and damning evidence.”
News
Breakfast on Wall Street: The Week Ahead
The spotlight next week will shift somewhat to the Federal Reserve’s second-quarter earnings season and monetary policy. Market watchers will be treated to results from several major names, including Dow 30 components Goldman Sachs (GS), UnitedHealth (UNH), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and American Express (AXP), along with streaming giant Netflix (NFLX).
The Fed will still attract some attention as investors will be eager to hear from a packed lineup of central bank speakers just before the policy meeting lockout period.
In terms of the economic calendar, after fifteen days of labor market and inflation indicators, activity data will gain momentum in the form of the latest retail sales and industrial production reports.
Earnings Highlight: Monday, July 15 – Goldman Sachs (GS) and BlackRock (Black). See the full earnings calendar.
Earnings Highlight: Tuesday, July 16 – UnitedHealth (UNH), Bank of America (BAC), Progressive (PGR), Morgan Stanley (IN), PNC Financial (PNC) and JB Hunt Transport (JBHT). See the full earnings calendar.
Earnings Highlight: Wednesday, July 17 – Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), US Bancorp (USB), Morgan Children (KMI), United Airlines (UAL) and Ally Financial (ALLY). See the full earnings calendar.
Earnings Highlight: Thursday, July 18 – Netflix (NFLX), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Black stone (BX), Domino’s pizza (ZDP) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM). See the full earnings calendar.
Earnings Highlight: Friday, July 19 – American Express (AXP), Halliburton (THANKS) and Travelers (VRT (return to recoverable value)) See the full earnings calendar.
IPO Observation: Hospital and healthcare clinic operator Ardent Health Partners (TARDT), insurance service provider Twfg (TWFG) and the biotechnology company Lirum Therapeutics (LRTX) are expected to price their IPOs and begin trading next week. The analyst quiet period ends at Rectitude (RECT) to free up analysts to publish ratings.
News
Trump shooting: Gold could hit record high, dollar and cryptocurrencies set to jump
Police cars outside the residence of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the suspected shooter at a Trump rally on Saturday, investigate the area in Pennsylvania. Following the incident, one rally attendee was killed, two rally attendees are in critical condition and Donald Trump suffered a non-fatal gunshot wound. The shooter is dead after being shot dead by the United States Secret Service. (Photo by Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Investors will initially favor traditional safe-haven assets and may lean toward trades more closely tied to former President Donald Trump’s chances of winning the White House after he survived an assassination attempt, according to market watchers.
“There will undoubtedly be some protectionist or safe-haven flows into Asia early this morning,” said Nick Twidale, chief market analyst at ATFX Global Markets. “I suspect gold could test all-time highs, we’ll see the yen being bought and the dollar, and flows into Treasuries as well.”
Early market commentary suggested Trump’s shooting at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday could also prompt traders to increase his likelihood of success in the November election. His support for looser fiscal policy and higher tariffs is generally seen as likely to benefit the dollar and weaken Treasuries.
An indicator of market sentiment heading into the weekend: Bitcoin surged above $60,000, likely reflecting Trump’s pro-crypto stance.
Other assets positively linked to the so-called Trump trade include stocks of energy companies, private prisons, credit card companies and health insurers.
Traders will also be closely watching market measures of expected volatility on Monday, such as those in the tariff-sensitive Chinese yuan and Mexican peso, which have begun to price in the U.S. vote.
Trump said he was shot in the right ear after a shooting at his rally. His campaign said in a statement that he was “fine” after the incident, which prompted him to rush off the stage.
“Currencies will be the first major market on Monday in Asia to react to the weekend’s shots. There’s potential for extra volatility, and getting a clear reading could be especially difficult because liquidity will be hurt by Japan’s national holiday,” said Garfield Reynolds, Asia team leader for Bloomberg Markets Live.
Strategists had already expected a volatile run-up to the election, particularly as Democrats are still agonizing over President Joe Biden’s candidacy after his poor performance in last month’s debate raised questions about his age. Investors were also grappling with the possibility that the election could end in a drawn-out dispute or political violence.
But there is little precedent for events like those in Pennsylvania. When President Ronald Reagan was shot four decades ago, the stock market plunged before closing early. The next day, March 31, 1981, the S&P 500 rose more than 1% and benchmark 10-year Treasury yields fell 9 basis points to 13.13%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Bond investors should pay particular attention as the attack is likely to boost Trump’s election chances and ultimately lead to concerns about the fiscal outlook, according to Marko Papic, chief strategist at California-based BCA Research Inc.
“The bond market must at some point become aware of President Trump’s greater chances of winning the White House than any of his rivals,” Papic wrote. “And I continue to believe that as his chances increase, so too must the likelihood of a bond market revolt.”
Kyle Rodda, senior financial markets analyst at Capital.com, said he was seeing client flows into Bitcoin and gold following the shooting.
“This news marks a turning point in American policy norms,” he said. “For markets, it means safe-haven trades, but more tilted toward non-traditional safe-havens.”
News
Latest Business News Live Updates Today, July 11, 2024
Follow us for stories on Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani as we bring you everything that’s happening in the business world. Follow the latest gold and silver prices here too. Stay in the know on all things business with us.
Latest news on July 11, 2024: Airtel says its new Xstream Fiber plans bundle over 350 live TV channels (Official Photo) (Reuters) Disclaimer: This is an AI-generated live blog and has not been edited by Hindustan Times staff.
Follow all the updates here:
-
Thu, 11 Jul 2024 08:44 PM
Business News LIVE Updates: Decoding Airtel’s new Xstream Fiber packages, finding value with Live TV and OTT
- Airtel confirms to HT that the live TV proposition is being delivered using its DTH network, while the bundled streaming subscriptions are an extension of its Xstream Play platform.
-
Thu, 11 Jul 2024 03:58 PM
Business News LIVE Updates: TCS Q1 results meet estimates: Net profit up 9%, ₹10 dividend declared
- TCS’s consolidated revenue rose 5.4% to Rs 626.13 billion in the June quarter. Analysts had expected revenue of Rs 622.07 billion, as per LSEG data.
-
Thu, 11 Jul 2024 03:51 PM
Business News LIVE Updates: Indian companies falsified generic Viagra data to get approval, says US FDA: Report
- Synapse Labs Pvt. Ltd may have been used in hundreds of drugs that are still available for sale, the report said.
-
Thu, 11 Jul 2024 03:09 PM
LIVE Business News Updates: Namita Thapar’s emotional post on Emcure IPO listing: ‘Mirza Ghalib sums up my feelings’
- Emcure Pharmaceuticals was listed at ₹1,325.05, up 31.45% on the BSE and NSE on July 10.
-
Thu, 11 Jul 2024 02:39 PM
LIVE business news updates: Amazon could face investigation over treatment of UK food suppliers, watchdog says
- An Amazon spokesperson said the company has made several improvements for food suppliers since last year’s results.
-
Thu, 11 Jul 2024 01:39 PM
LIVE Business News Updates: This Bengaluru company aims to launch a ‘space habitat’ by 2027, in talks with SpaceX
- AkashaLabdhi calls itself a “home among the stars” as it says the company’s area of expertise is signal processing and continuous automation.
-
Thu, 11 Jul 2024 01:10 PM
Business News LIVE Updates: Amazon India employees on working conditions: Made to stand for hours, bathroom breaks not allowed
- A survey conducted by UNI Global Union with the Amazon India Workers Association had 1,838 participants who alleged appalling working conditions at Amazon facilities in India.
-
Thu, 11 Jul 2024 12:44 PM
LIVE Business News Updates: UK overhauls listing rules in bid to attract IPOs to London: What has changed?
- The new rules allow companies to carry out more activities without putting them to a shareholder vote, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority said.
-
Thu, 11 Jul 2024 12:18 PM
Business News LIVE Updates: Want to send money abroad? Open foreign currency accounts at GIFT City
- Foreign currency accounts will be like a bank account in India, but instead of rupees, you hold foreign currency like US dollars.
-
Thu, 11 Jul 2024 11:30 AM
Business News LIVE Updates: First Abu Dhabi Bank denies interest in acquiring stake in Yes Bank: Report
- The report said the Yes Bank stake sale has attracted interest from Japan, including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.
-
Thu, 11 Jul 2024 11:04 AM
LIVE Business News Updates: TCS Share Price Surges Ahead of Q1 Results: What Brokers Say About the Stock
- TCS Share Price: The stock opened at ₹3,944.65 against its previous close of ₹3,909.90. It then rose 1.8 percent to ₹3,979.90 level.
-
Thu, 11 Jul 2024 10:22 AM
LIVE Business News Updates: Reliance Jio IPO listing likely in 2025 at $112 billion valuation: Jefferies
- Jio “could list at a valuation of $112 billion” and add “7-15 percent upside” to Reliance Industries’ share price, Jefferies said.
-
Thu, 11 Jul 2024 09:42 AM
LIVE Business News Updates: Yes Bank shares rise after Moody’s revises outlook to ‘positive’ from ‘stable’
- Global rating agency Moody’s has raised its outlook on Yes Bank to positive from “stable” despite expectations of a gradual improvement in its depositor base.
-
Thu, 11 Jul 2024 09:16 AM
Business News LIVE Updates: Sahaj Solar IPO opens today: All you need to know before subscribing to the issue
- Sahaj Solar IPO: The block issue aims to raise ₹52.56 crore through issuance of 2.92 million new shares and will close on July 15.
-
Thu, 11 Jul 2024 08:40 AM
LIVE Business News Updates: Why Analysts Believe India’s Earnings Season May Disappoint Stock Market Investors
- Investors in Indian stocks hoping for a robust earnings season to justify expensive valuations are likely to be disappointed.
-
Thu, 11 Jul 2024 08:35 AM
LIVE Business News Updates: Elon Musk Says Second Neuralink Brain Implant Will ‘Give People Superpowers’ Within a Week
- Elon Musk said Neuralink will make some changes to try to alleviate the problem of its electrode wires retracting from brain tissue.
-
Thu, 11 Jul 2024 07:59 AM
LIVE Business News Updates: Apple warns Indian iPhone users of possible Pegasus-like ‘spyware attack’
- In April this year, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (Cert-In) flagged several vulnerabilities in Apple’s operating system for iPhone and iPad.
-
Thu, 11 Jul 2024 07:45 AM
Business News LIVE Updates: US stock markets at record highs led by world’s biggest tech companies
- The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 2.4% to a record high after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported strong quarterly revenue.
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
News / Business / Latest Business News Live Updates Today, July 11, 2024
Source
News
Jio Financial share price: Should you buy this Reliance group stock on Monday ahead of Q1 FY2024 results?
Q1 2024 Results: Jio Financial Share Price will be in focus on Monday as the Reliance Group company has a fixed board meeting on July 15, 2024 to consider and approve the company’s unaudited standalone and consolidated financial results. Trust Group company informed about the Q1 2024 Results date on Wednesday last week via an exchange filing. According to stock market experts, Jio Financial Services Limited is poised to deliver impressive Q1 results for FY25 on solid operating income. They have forecast a healthy QoQ PAT for the company in Q1 FY25.
Jio Financial Services News
Speaking on the Jio Financial Services Q1 2024 results, Manish Chowdhury, Head of Research, StoxBox, said, “We believe Jio Financial Services is poised to deliver impressive results in Q1FY25 aided by its operating income, which is likely to show robust growth driven by strong investment income, which in turn should lead to healthy PAT growth on a sequential basis. Jio Financial Services continues to make strategic moves such as launching digital products and expanding its ecosystem, with a clear focus on future growth. The company has announced plans to introduce products for lending against stocks and mutual funds, leveraging Jio’s large user base, which could be a significant growth driver in the coming quarters.”
“Furthermore, with the NBFC receiving RBI approval to become a primary investment company, Jio Financial Services is well-positioned to unlock value from its investments. Overall, we expect the company to report robust numbers in the upcoming quarter,” the StoxBox expert added.
Jio Financial Stock Target Price
Speaking about the technical outlook of Jio Financial share price, Ganesh Dongre, Senior Manager, Technical Research at Anand Rathi, said, “Jio Financial Services share price is poised to make a fresh high at the ₹260 apiece level. If the stock breaks above this mark, the Reliance Group stock could make a fresh high by touching the ₹290-₹295 zone. Hence, those with Jio Finance stock in their portfolio are advised to stick to the script by keeping a stop loss at ₹205. If the stock breaks above ₹260 decisively, then one can upgrade the stop loss at ₹240 for the near-term target of ₹295.”
On the advice to new buyers regarding Jio Financial stock, Ganesh Dongre said, “New buyers are advised to wait for the breakout. Once the stock breaks above ₹260, one can buy this Reliance Group stock at the short term target of ₹295, keeping a stop loss of ₹240 apiece.”
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or brokerage firms, and not of Mint. Investors are advised to consult with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
3.6 Crore Indians visited in a single day choosing us as India’s undisputed platform for General Election Results. Explore Latest Updates here!
Topics that may interest you
-
DeFi6 months ago
Switchboard Revolutionizes DeFi with New Oracle Aggregator
-
Fintech9 months ago
Fintech unicorn Zeta launches credit as a UPI-linked service for banks
-
DeFi8 months ago
👀 Lido prepares its response to the recovery boom
-
News6 months ago
Latest Business News Live Updates Today, July 11, 2024
-
DeFi6 months ago
Is Zypto Wallet a Reliable Choice for DeFi Users?
-
Fintech6 months ago
FinTech LIVE New York: Mastercard and the Power of Partnership
-
News8 months ago
Salesforce Q1 2025 Earnings Report (CRM)
-
DeFi6 months ago
Ethena downplays danger of letting traders use USDe to back risky bets – DL News
-
News8 months ago
Think Finance Loan Repayment Scam Victims to Get $384 Million
-
ETFs9 months ago
Gold ETFs see first outing after March 2023 at ₹396 cr on profit booking
-
Videos8 months ago
“We will enter the ‘banana zone’ in 2 WEEKS! Cryptocurrency prices will quadruple!” – Raoul Pal
-
Videos9 months ago
PREPARE! Millions of People Will Buy Bitcoin When the “ULTIMATE COLLAPSE” Begins in 2024 – Larry Lepard