http://finance.yahoo.com/news/standard-c....

Quote:

The Treasury Department and Federal Reserve were blindsided and angered by New York's banking regulator's decision to launch an explosive attack on Standard Chartered Plc over $250 billion in alleged money laundering transactions tied to Iran, sources familiar with the situation said.

By going it alone through the order he issued on Monday, Benjamin Lawsky, head of the recently created New York State Department of Financial Services, also complicates talks between the Treasury and London-based Standard Chartered to settle claims over the transactions, several of the sources said.

Lawsky's stunning move, which included releasing embarrassing communications and details of the bank's alleged defiance of U.S. sanctions against Iran, 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 negotiation - with public shaming kept to a minimum.

In his order, Lawsky said Standard Chartered's dealings exposed the U.S. banking system to terrorists, drug traffickers and corrupt states.

...

Barclays, like Standard Chartered, was advised by Sullivan & Cromwell, known as the go-to New York law firm for banks facing regulatory scrutiny. The Barclays settlement, while receiving news coverage, was a fairly bland document that listed the bank's transactions but few insider details, such as emails. Other banks, including Credit Suisse and ING, have settled in much the same way with U.S. regulators.

...

Looks like some "rogue agent" didn't get the memo to look the other way and was actually doing their damn job. Either that or they were bribed to go after Standard and ignore the other banks. (And four years ago it would have been considered "tinfoil" to even mention the latter explanation.)

If any "taxpayer" so much as emailed a person from Iran they'd likely be thrown in prison for life without a trial, or assassinated by the local steroid-popping SWAT team and their war toys. Our government is trash.

moneyshot here...

Quote:

Lawsky's aim, according to the sources, was to cast more light on a bank's alleged transgressions. His agency, these people said, wasn't interested in a quiet pact of the sort reached by federal authorities in recent years.