Lloyds pays $350m to end US case - Ten of the Worlds Top Banks accused of laundering money for Iran.

Lloyds pays $350m to end US case

news.bbc.co.uk

UK-based bank Lloyds TSB has agreed to pay a $350m penalty to US authorities over financial transfers that violated US sanctions.

The US Justice Department said Lloyds TSB had acknowledged "criminal conduct" and agreed to forfeit the funds in return for an end to its investigation.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
CNN
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The Telegraph


[edit on 10/1/2009 by skibtz]

So they admit to being criminals and yet there are no arrests? No prison terms? No recrimination?

Lloyds could have been responsible for financing terrorism and yet all investigations are dropped becuase they paid their way out if it?

If you ever needed any further convincing that the banks, money boys and The Powers That Be are totally corrupt then here it is.

They even admit to "criminal conduct"!

Disgusting but not surprising I guess.

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

I would say that there's likely no more criminal activity here than a taxation mistake. International firms with US entities have a real problem working out how the US will tax them.

I would say they have made a mistake on corporate structure and the tax issues have caught them out.

Another link here revealing Lloyds Bank falsifying records in order to process Iranian funds:

Morningstar

And in case you were wondering, they were 'stripping' transfer details:

Stripping is the practice of removing wire transfer information that would identify that the transfers originated from a prohibited source.

I do not know much about the banking world or financial institutions but I find this terribly shocking and distressing.

Surely the criminals involved need to be put before a judge?!

Maybe we should all keep a few grand put aside incase we get caught for stealing or for having murdered someone.

I mean, we can pay our way out if prosecution can't we?

And I am sure that Lloyds won't miss $350m - considering that the people of the UK bailed out Lloyds, HBOS and RBS with around £37bn.



[edit on 10/1/2009 by skibtz]

reply to post by annefran


All I know is that Lloyds have admitted criminal conduct by purposely 'stripping' banned clients details so that the US system did not trace and deny the transaction.

That is not a simple tax mistake. That is gross misconduct. Especially when you bear in mind that some of the clients were from Iran.

The UK are hardly helping the US with their defence strategy!

And here is an article detailing how the criminal actions Llyods could have been responsible for funding the Iranian nuclear programme:

New York Times

This is not about a simple misuderstanding of financial business, it is about the intent of a major UK bank to protect, and indeed hide, banned clients of the US finanical system and escape unpunished because they paid their way out of it.



[edit on 10/1/2009 by skibtz]

So what if some of the funds were from Iran? It's only USD that it's illegal to move...

Are you actually stating it's okay (and expected by you) that the UK is another tool in the USA's overseas' armoury and that the UK should basically bow down to American will? Typical!

That may be the case...but I certainly dont appreciate it!

reply to post by annefran


I have raised this issue to further expose the criminals that run the banks.

It doesn't matter if the UK is a puppy dog humping the leg of the USA. That's just tradition

I raised the issue of Iran as an example of how serious the criminal conduct is and the possible ramifications, i.e. helping to fund a nuclear programme.

You seem to think that nothing illegal has happened. I am not debating that as Lloyds have already admitted to criminal conduct.

The problem is why is it acceptable for a bank to admit partaking in criminal conduct and yet escape punishment just because they bailed themselves out with some money!

And now it looks like groups such as Hamas could have benefited from the criminal activities of Lloyds Bank (UK):

Ten of the worlds top banks accused of laundering money for Iran

Some serious stuff has to hit the fan - no way can these people walk away from such criminal activity by throwing money at the legal system.

This is so wrong!

[edit on 10/1/2009 by skibtz]

reply to post by skibtz


And yet Chase Manhattan, IBM, Standard Oil, and a whole host of other American companies and individuals(G.H.W. Bush's father Prescott, W's Grandaddy) are all proven guilty of having financed, and supplied the Nazi regime. Treason is business as usual and certainly not something new to the US or UK

[edit on 10-1-2009 by projectvxn]

Originally posted by projectvxn
reply to post by skibtz

 

And yet Chase Manhattan, IBM, Standard Oil, and a whole host of other American companies and individuals(G.H.W. Bush's father Prescott, W's Grandaddy) are all proven guilty of having financed, and supplied the Nazi regime. Treason is business as usual and certainly not something new to the US or UK

[edit on 10-1-2009 by projectvxn]

Ok.

So is apathy the new weapon in the fight against these criminals?

Sorry. Not sure where you are coming from. Are you saying that because it has happened before we should just ignore it and move on?

Did any of those mentioned above hold their hands up at the time and say, quite literally, we have recently been the masterminds of criminal conduct, possibly funding global terrorism, but I am really sorry, here's some money, see you later?

These animals need jumping on big time - we need to start taking action and changing the way we respond to these incidents.

The more we sit on our arses and just take it 'cos it happens all the time' is a far worse act of treason against humankind IMHO.

Oh no not at all. I think we should fight this kind of thing tooth and nail, and to the bitter end if need be. But we must not be surprised, especially if we are avid students of history.

My knowledge of history is below par which is why I enjoy coming to ATS

Sorry for the misreading of your post

[edit on 10/1/2009 by skibtz]