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A rogue Standard Chartered Plc banking unit violated U.S. anti-money laundering laws by scheming with Iran to hide more than US$250-billion of transactions, and may lose its license to operate in New York State, a state banking regulator said on Monday.

Benjamin Lawsky, superintendent of the state’s department of financial services, said Standard Chartered Bank reaped hundreds of millions of dollars of fees by scheming with Iran’s government despite U.S. economic sanctions to hide roughly 60,000 transactions from 2001 to 2010.

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Lawsky’s order quotes a senior Standard Chartered official in London who, upon being advised by a North American colleague that its Iran dealings could cause “catastrophic reputational damage,” reportedly replied:

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

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Lawsky said the unit of the London-based bank was “apparently aided” by its consultant Deloitte & Touche LLP, which hid details from regulators, and despite being under supervision by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and other regulators for other compliance failures.