Deloitte’s US arm dragged into scandal
THE US arm of Deloitte yesterday denied any wrongdoing in its dealings with Standard Chartered, after the advisory firm was accused of colluding with its client to conceal billions of dollars in transactions through Iran.
“Deloitte Financial Advisory Services performed its role as independent consultant properly and had no knowledge of any alleged misconduct by bank employees,” it said in a statement yesterday, adding: “Allegations otherwise are unsupported by the facts.”
The damning US report into Standard Chartered’s dealings with Iran claimed that Deloitte employees hid information that would have revealed the bank’s contact with Iranian entities, agreeing to submit a “watered-down” draft report as the alternative would be “too much and too politically sensitive for both Standard Chartered Bank and Deloitte”. It also said the firm passed sensitive information on money-laundering investigations into other banks onto Standard Chartered.