US regulators angry at New York over Standard Chartered, afraid it will interfere with Obama's reelection bid
Of course. New York state regulators caught London-based Standard Chartered laundering money for Iran. And President Obama's regulators are angry at the New York regulators about it. Can you guess why?By going it alone through the order he issued on Monday, the head of the recently created New York State Department of Financial Services, Benjamin Lawsky, also complicates talks between the Treasury and London-based Standard Chartered to settle claims over the transactions, several of the sources said.So why are the Feds angry? Wasn't the point of the Iran sanctions supposed to be 'name and shame'? Of course: The New York action might interfere with President Hussein Obama's reelection bid.
His action, which included releasing embarrassing communications and details of the bank's alleged defiance of U.S. sanctions, is rewriting the playbook on how foreign banks settle cases involving the processing of shadowy funds tied to sanctioned countries. In the past, such cases have usually been settled through negotiated settlements with public shaming kept to a minimum.
In his order, Lawsky said the bank's dealings exposed the U.S. banking system to terrorists, drug traffickers and corrupt states.
Sources familiar with the New York regulator's decision say it was based in part on a worry that the Treasury and the Fed were trying to slow the settlement process down until conditions were more politically favorable. The U.S. presidential election is only three months away and Geithner has indicated he will leave his post at the end of the year.What could go wrong?
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Campaign 2012, Iran sanctions regime, money laundering
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:33 AM
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