Compliance
StanChart Extends US Non-Prosecution Agreements
The agreements have been extended until the end of December 2018.
London-based banking group Standard
Chartered has agreed to a further extension of its US
deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) until the end of December
2018.
The group entered into the DPAs with the US Department of Justice
and the New York County District Attorney’s Office in December
2012, accepting that it had broken laws by processing payments
for sanctions targets in countries including Iran, Burma, Sudan
and Libya.
The bank avoided prosecution in exchange for a cash settlement of
$327 million and an agreement with the US authorities to
improve its sanctions compliance.
“The agreement acknowledges that the group has taken a number of
steps and made significant progress toward compliance with the
requirements of the DPA and enhancing its sanctions compliance
programme, but that the programme has not yet reached the
standard required by the DPA,” the bank said. “The agreement also
indicates that the group continues to co-operate with an ongoing
US sanctions-related investigation, but that additional time is
needed to complete the investigation.”
The 2014 extension called for the appointment of an independent
compliance monitor for a three-year term; the monitor was engaged
on 28 July 2015, and the parties have also agreed to extend the
term of the monitoring to 31 December 2018.
Standard Chartered will provide a further update in the next few
months.
