Several top British MPs accused U.S. authorities that, by attacking the British bank Standard Chartered, involved in a serious scandal in the U.S., they aim to weaken London City financial centre – the Wall Street rival – writes the Financial Times.
John Mann, a member of a parliamentary committee that oversees the Treasury, said that he noticed “the increasing anti-British trend of American authorities and politicians” that could be based on a desire to lead businesses from the City to move to Wall Street. “This is in reality the goal of American authorities, and the stakes are very high,” he said.
Kwasi Kwarteng, another MP, said that U.S. authorities have a history of investigating businesses based on inconclusive evidence. “Some of these investigations are politically influenced and I wonder if New York is pursuing a major scalp,” he said.
U.S. authorities have accused Standard Chartered Bank earlier this week that it has been running and hiding for ten years deals worth over $250 billion with entities in Iran, in violation of U.S. laws against money laundering. The bank could lose its license to operate in the New York State and be fined up to $700 million, according to Bloomberg. Standard Chartered is the latest British bank involved in a major scandal in the U.S. In 2009, a unit of Lloyds was accused of allowing Iran illegal access to the U.S. financial system and agreed to pay $350 million for prosecutors to drop the investigation.
In August 2010, Barclays has paid nearly $300 million to U.S. authorities to withdraw allegations that the bank violated the law facilitating transactions in which credit institutions were involved in the U.S. sanctioned countries such as Cuba, Iran, Libya and Sudan.
HSBC set aside $700 million last month to cover any fines that a U.S. justice may require because of involvement in money laundering operations for terrorists and drug traffickers. The Guardian notes that some British banks such as Barclays, are managed and controlled by Americans.
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