Israel Matzav: 'You f---ing Americans. Who are you to tell us, the rest of the world, that we're not going to deal with Iranians'

Tuesday, August 07, 2012

'You f---ing Americans. Who are you to tell us, the rest of the world, that we're not going to deal with Iranians'

British-based Standard Chartered Bank stands to lose its license to operate in New York State because it hid $250 billion in transactions with Iran in violation of US law.

The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) said Standard Chartered "schemed" with the Iranian government and hid from law enforcement officials some 60,000 secret transactions to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in fees over nearly 10 years, also exposing the US banking system to terrorists, drug traffickers and corrupt states.

The loss of a New York banking license would be a devastating blow for a foreign bank, effectively cutting off direct access to the US bank market. Standard Chartered processes $190 billion every day for global clients, the New York bank regulator said.

...

The New York regulator, headed by former prosecutor Benjamin Lawsky, ordered Standard Chartered to explain why the bank should not lose its state license and the ability to process dollar transactions. Lawsky also ordered the bank to bring in an outside consultant to monitor its transactions.

"Standard Chartered Bank operated as a rogue institution," Lawsky said in the order.

...

Lawsky said Standard Chartered moved money through its New York branch on behalf of Iranian financial clients, including the Central Bank of Iran and state-owned Bank Saderat and Bank Melli, that were subject to US sanctions.

Monday's order alleged that Standard Chartered removed codes on money transfers and altered message fields, inserting phrases such as "NO NAME GIVEN" to hide the nature of the transactions.

At the center of concern were alleged "U-Turn" transactions, involving money moved for Iranian clients among banks in Britain and the Middle East and cleared through Standard Chartered's New York branch, but which neither started nor ended in Iran.

Such transactions were permissible until November 2008, when the Treasury Department prohibited them on concerns that they were being used to evade sanctions, and that Iran was using banks to fund nuclear and missile development programs.

The New York order also alleged that even as some banks exited the U-Turn transactions, Standard Chartered hustled to "take the abandoned market share." In a December 2006 memo titled, "Project Gazelle, Report on Iranian Business," bankers discussed how to increase "wallet share" with Iranian clients.

And for those of you who wonder why sanctions aren't having any effect on Iran, this ought to be a clue.

In an unusual look inside a bank, the regulator described how Standard Chartered officials debated whether to continue Iranian dealings. In October 2006, the top official for business in the Americas, whom the regulator did not name, warned in a "panicked message" that the Iranian dealings could cause "catastrophic reputational damage" and "serious criminal liability."

A top executive in London shot back: "You f---ing Americans. Who are you to tell us, the rest of the world, that we're not going to deal with Iranians." The reply showed "obvious contempt for US banking regulations," the regulator said.

You mean the Obama administration hasn't given Standard Chartered an exemption from the sanctions? That might be the first instance I've heard where there was no exemption.

What could go wrong?

Labels: Bank Mellat, Iran sanctions regime, Iranian central bank

3 Comments:

At 3:28 PM, Captain.H said...: "A top executive in London shot back: "You f---ing Americans. Who are you to tell us, the rest of the world, that we're not going to deal with Iranians."

OK, go ahead and deal with the Iranian Mullah fascists. But if you do, you're no longer going to deal with Americans. Take your pick.

Have you noticed, that in any argument, the first person to stoop to using vulgarities, like this Brit banker, is the person who's run out of arguments, and ideas?
At 5:33 PM, Sunlight said...: Remember, under Bush, the Iranian situation was meant to be a task "handled" completely by the Euros, since the U.S. was engaged in Afghanistan and Iraq. And they have "f---ed" it up ROYALLY! On purpose? Enquiring minds want to know. And now that the U.S. makes a peep, the Euros are caterwauling!
At 11:52 PM, Alex said...: "Have you noticed, that in any argument, the first person to stoop to using vulgarities, like this Brit banker, is the person who's run out of arguments, and ideas?"

So you know who swore first? I doubt it. The simplefact is that every country outside the US and Israel trades with Iran. We buy their oil, carpets and pistachios. They buy our cars & machine tools (Germany), soya (Argentina), wheat (Australia), lamb (New Zealand), electric power systems (Russia), airports (France), Airbus aircraft and parts. BP, Shell, Total nd ENI all have ventures there, and all of the major non-US banks do some sort of business with Iran.