WHAT HEELS: Embargo? What Embargo?: Part II
Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau is investigating whether nine European banks helped Iran or Iranian clients evade U.S. sanctions, including purchasing materials that could be used to further its nuclear ambitions, reports The Wall Street Journal:
Mr. Morgenthau's office has been looking into the practice of "stripping," where the identities of bank clients are removed from wire-transfer information. The practice helps clients avoid filters used by U.S. banks to detect transactions from countries under U.S. sanctions.
Lloyds TSB Bank PLC has already entered into a deferred-prosecution agreement with Morgenthau's office and the U.S. Department of Justice that requires forfeiture of $350 million for illegal, reports Legal Times:
From 1995 to 2007, Lloyds' offices in Britain and Dubai falsified outgoing U.S. wire transfers - removing customer names, bank names and addresses - allowing them to slip through the filters of U.S. financial institutions. The process, known as "repairing" or "stripping," was designed to evade U.S. economic sanctions imposed against Iran, Sudan and other countries, the department said.
The federal government and New York County will split the settlement 50-50.
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