Standard Chartered rises on favourable filing in 'Brutus' case

(Sharecast News) - Standard Chartered shares rose on Friday after the bank welcomed what it described as a favourable filing from the US Department of Justice in a long-running civil case involving allegations of sanctions breaches. The bank said the DoJ's latest position in the so-called 'Brutus' case confirmed that the claims, first brought by a former employee and his associates more than a decade ago, were "false" and repeatedly dismissed by US courts.

Judges previously described the plaintiff's arguments as "on the verge of vexatious and frivolous", "without merit" and falling "far short".

The filing followed years of litigation in which the plaintiffs had sought to revive allegations that Standard Chartered was involved in billions of dollars of unlawful transactions.

The bank has consistently denied the claims, noting that US authorities had already concluded there was no evidence of sanctions violations after a comprehensive investigation.

Shares in the London-headquartered, Asia-focused lender rose 3% after the announcement, partially reversing losses from last week when US Republican lawmaker Elise Stefanik urged the Attorney General to investigate the bank before the case expired.

Standard Chartered said it would continue to cooperate fully with authorities but vowed to defend itself vigorously against "baseless allegations" that it says had been driven by personal financial motives.

At 0927 BST, shares in Standard Chartered weer up 3.27% at 1,404.5p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.