StanChart shares rise as banker sees positive news in terrorism financing litigation

Standard Chartered shares rose 3.38% on Friday to around $1,404 and recorded a 7.70% rise in its share price in the past five days. The bank’s stock price surged after it said the U.S. Department of Justice reached a favorable ruling in a long-running civil case.

StanChart shares dropped last week after U.S. Republican lawmaker Elise Stefanik called for a probe over its alleged financial misconduct. She wrote to the Attorney General, Pam Bondi, stating that the bank made $9.6 billion in illegal payments to known terrorist organizations, including Iran. 

Today, I respectfully requested Attorney General @AGPamBondi to investigate Standard Chartered Bank's illicit payments to known terrorists and @NewYorkStateAG Tish James' inaction on the payments while approving bank licensure.https://t.co/l9CeNVEz82 pic.twitter.com/a5REsUhMav

— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) August 15, 2025

Standard Chartered refutes financial misconduct claims

The financial institution was also accused of financing China’s purchases of Iranian oil and hiding the transactions from required disclosures. Standard Chartered was also accused of evading ongoing sanctions.

Standard Chartered argued on August 15 that the reporting contained profound factual inaccuracies in the legacy Brutus qui tam case. The firm also disputed the allegations that there are $9.6 billion in unlawful transactions, citing multiple rejections by the U.S. courts. 

StanChart expects the dismissal of the case to continue to be upheld on appeal, arguing that the claims are false. The financial institution also aims at fully cooperating with any relevant authorities to assure them that the allegations are meritless and facts have not changed.

The international banking group claims it remains resolute in its fight against financial crime in every location it operates, including the U.S. The company also promised to maintain the highest level of compliance with sanctions laws and regulations. 

StanChart hopes to continue defending itself vigorously against the allegations by Brutus. The bank also believes that Brutus seeks to damage the bank’s reputation and is motivated by personal financial gain.

Stefanik also called for a probe into the bank over its alleged role in facilitating transactions for entities linked to Hezbollah and Hamas. The case raised questions about whether regulatory actions are being weaponized for geopolitical ends.

The U.S. Republican official had alleged that the state’s Attorney General Letitia James failed to take action on the illegal transactions while approving the bank’s annual license. Stefanik also revealed that James had information about the illegal transactions from terrorist financing experts and whistleblowers.

As previously reported by Cryptopolitan, she cited national security risk due to StanChart’s financial activity and James’ failure to act against it.

One of the bank’s former employees argued that U.S. authorities either overlooked or concealed crucial evidence showing that it had conducted many more transactions with terrorist groups. Julian Knight, a former Standard Chartered executive in the transaction service unit, claimed that the U.S. failed to approve the whistleblower claims he made to the Department of Justice (DOJ) against the bank.

According to a report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Knight said he decloaked countless illegal transactions that were hidden deep in the Bank’s electronic spreadsheet. He alleged that the U.S. government failed to identify at least 500K separate transitions involving the bank’s Iran-related clients.

The DOJ later cited Knight’s allegations, which it had dismissed as meritless, in a 2025 High Court ruling allowing the investor lawsuit to proceed.

StanChart faces penalties for its alleged financial misconduct

The bank’s cost of compliance for penalties has surged by 40% since 2020. StanChart’s Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio of 13.8%, which is below peers like HSBC’s 14.5%, also raises concerns about its ability to absorb future penalties. A report by PwC revealed that nearly 70% of asset managers are prioritizing banks with robust compliance frameworks.

StanChart agreed to pay over $1 billion after the U.S. and UK authorities accused it of money laundering and sanctions breaches. The financial firm was accused of processing $438 million worth of illegal transactions to Iranian accounts between 2009 and 2014.

The British multinational bank was also fined $2.7 billion in July over its alleged role in the 1MDB scandal. The bank was accused of allegedly allowing more than 100 suspicious payments between 2019 and 2013 from Malaysia’s 1MDB fund.

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