And so it goes, another day
in the world of banking where hypocrisy reigns and trillions in global money
laundering are ignored.
Prosecution of wrong doers are few and far between because officials get
more pats on the back from their bosses for bringing in money rather than
putting wrong doers in jail. A government that has dragged its feet in
prosecuting crimes committed by the likes of Bank of America or Goldman Sachs
has no problem going after small fry like Standard Charter to show that they
are "doing something" with Iran as the pretext.
This tale of regulatory complicity feels like all the stories we read about the police shaking down the mafia so they can be cut in to the rackets.
Wall Street has become a place where real financial fraudsters go unpunished while inflated cases like this get the attention especially when a demonized "evil doer" like Iran is said to be involved. Real crimes like the way sanctions hurt ordinary Iranians go unreported.
News Dissector Danny Schechter blogs at News Dissector.net. He is the author of The Crime of Our Time about pervasive financial crime, (Disinformation Books) and directed the film Plunder on the same subject. He also hosts a show on ProgressiveRadioNetwork (PRN.fm.) This commentary first appeared on PressTV.com.
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