Standard Chartered Bank has been accused of laundering Iranian money. The share price of the international bank, headquartered in London fell by nearly 20% this morning.

The New York State Department of Financial Services has stated that Standard Chartered may have laundered over £161bn. The US regulator has also accused the bank of covering up transactions for Iranian financial institutions which had US sanctions imposed upon them. The regulating body has now threatened to strip Standard Chartered of its right to operate in the US.

The bank is denying all allegations and has said that “99.9% of the transactions relating to Iran” were within regulation guidelines.

The review by the DFS focused on transactions to Iran between 2001 and 2007 and they believe that significant cover-ups have been made by the bank in order to cover the financial institutions and individuals involved.

Standard Chartered “strongly rejects the position or the portrayal of facts as set out in the order issued by the DFS.” The bank also maintains that “The Group takes its responsibilities very seriously, and seeks to comply at all times with the relevant laws and regulations. It is in this spirit we initiated this review and have engaged with the US agencies.”

Standard Chartered comments on its own site that it operates in 70 countries with a staff base of 87,000 people. It has operated for over 150 years in some of the world's most dynamic markets and earns around 90 per cent of its income and profits in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.