Standard Chartered Group is being fined US$1.1 billion for breaches in its sanctions compliance regime and financial crime controls.

The group will pay a total of US$947 million in monetary penalties to US agencies and £102 million (US$153 million) to the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

US agencies involved are the US department of justice, the office of the district attorney for New York County, the New York state department of financial services, the board of governors of the federal reserve system and the US treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

Iranian connections

Standard Chartered has accepted full responsibility for the violations and control deficiencies outlined by the US and UK agencies, the vast majority of which predated 2012 and none of which occurred after 2014.

These violations include the actions of two former junior employees who were aware of certain customers’ Iranian connections and conspired with them to break the law, deceive the group and violate its policies.

Other countries

The bulk of the settlement, US$639 million, relates to breaches of US sanctions imposed on dealings with Burma (Myanmar), Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria.

US authorities said a former banker at Standard Chartered’s Dubai branch had pleaded guilty in New York to conspiracy to violate sanctions.

Standard Chartered’s actions

Standard Chartered cooperated proactively and fully with the authorities’ investigations and conducted its own thorough accountability review and shared the results with the authorities.

Official documents recognise that the group has undergone a comprehensive and positive transformation since the conduct and control issues outlined occurred and the FCA and US agencies have commented favourably on Standard Chartered’s remediation efforts.