U.S. Treasury Says Standard Chartered Being Investigated

The U.S. Treasury told the British government on Wednesday that it takes financial sanctions violations "extremely seriously" and is coordinating with federal and state agencies in an investigation of the UK's Standard Chartered bank.

Adam Szubin, the director of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, told the British Treasury in a letter obtained by Reuters that his office is investigating the bank for "potential Iran-related violations as well as a broader set of potential sanctions violations."

The letter, dated Aug. 8, was in response to a British request for clarification of U.S. sanctions laws and comes after New York State authorities alleged that Standard Chartered hid $250 billion of Iranian banking transactions, in violation of U.S. law.