VOA慢速英語:British Banks Pays 340 Million Fine for Iran Dealings

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

這里是美國之音慢速英語經(jīng)濟報道。

The British bank Standard Chartered agreed this week to pay three hundred forty million dollars to a United States financial regulator. The agreement is designed to settle charges that the bank illegally hid financial business with Iranian interests. The wording of the agreement notes that the financial business in question amounted to at least two hundred fifty billion dollars.

英國渣打銀行本周同意向一家美國金融監(jiān)管機構(gòu)支付3.4億美元(的罰款)。該協(xié)議旨在解決渣打銀行非法隱藏與伊朗利益相關金融業(yè)務的指控。這份協(xié)議中的措辭指出，存在問題的金融業(yè)務總額至少為2500億美元。

Standard Chartered said it "strongly rejects" the charges. The bank said it will fight efforts to withdraw its license to do business in New York, an important financial center.

渣打銀行對這一指控表示強烈反對。該銀行表示將抗爭吊銷其紐約業(yè)務牌照的行動。紐約是一個重要的金融中心。

Standard Chartered is Britain's fifth largest bank. New York state's top bank regulator accused the bank of being a "rogue institution" from two thousand one to twenty ten.

渣打銀行是英國第五大銀行。紐約州最高銀行監(jiān)管機構(gòu)指控該銀行2001年到2010年期間是一家“流氓金融機構(gòu)”。

The regulator said the bank made hundreds of millions of dollars in fees from about sixty thousand financial exchanges with Iranian financial institutions. The reported exchanges were made through the bank's New York offices.

監(jiān)管機構(gòu)表示，渣打銀行通過與伊朗金融機構(gòu)進行的約6萬筆金融交易中，獲取了數(shù)億美元傭金。這些交易都是通過渣打銀行紐約辦事處進行的。

One official said the dealings exposed the United States banking system to terrorists, illegal drug traffickers and rogue states. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation is carrying out a criminal investigation. Other United States regulators also have opened their own investigations and are not part of the settlement.

一名官員表示，這些交易將美國銀行系統(tǒng)暴露給了恐怖分子、非法毒販和流氓國家。美國聯(lián)邦調(diào)查局正在進行刑事調(diào)查。其它美國監(jiān)管機構(gòu)也展開了自己的調(diào)查，而這些調(diào)查并非這次和解協(xié)議的一部分。

United States law has tightly controlled financial dealings with Iran since nineteen seventy-nine. That year, fifty-two Americans were taken hostage in Tehran for four hundred forty-four days. But western concerns about Iran's possible nuclear program are central to the case.

從1979年起，美國法律嚴密控制與伊朗的金融交易。這一年，52名美國人在德黑蘭被挾持444天。但西方國家對伊朗潛在核計劃的擔憂是這起案子的核心。

Bank expert Bert Ely told VOA that the investigation is part of an effort by several Western countries to limit Iran's nuclear program. They accuse Iran of trying to develop a nuclear weapon.

銀行專家伯特·埃利(Bert Ely)對美國之音表示，這些調(diào)查是幾個西方國家限制伊朗核計劃的行動的一部分。這些國家指控伊朗試圖發(fā)展核武器。

BERT ELY: "Enforcement of the bank secrecy act and the money-laundering laws are just an on-going effort by the financial regulators to again choke off cash flows to Iran as much as possible and make it as difficult as possible for Iran to sell its oil internationally, but also to buy equipment and parts needed for its nuclear enrichment activities."

埃利：“執(zhí)行銀行保密法和反洗錢法只是金融監(jiān)管機構(gòu)盡可能再次切斷伊朗現(xiàn)金流的一項持續(xù)努力，不但要使伊朗在國際上銷售石油盡可能更難，還包括購買鈾濃縮活動所需的設備和零件。”

Standard Chartered is not the only British bank that has faced fines recently. Barclays agreed to pay fines of about four hundred fifty million dollars to American and British officials in July.

渣打銀行不是最近面臨罰款的唯一一家英國銀行。巴克萊銀行7月份同意向美國和英國有關部門支付4.5億美元罰款。

Barclays is one of eighteen banks that set an important measure of borrowing costs for banks, the London Interbank Offering Rate, or LIBOR. Officials said Barclays lied to them about its interest costs. This made the bank appear stronger than it was. But LIBOR is used to set many interest rates paid by millions of people around the world.

巴克萊銀行是設定倫敦銀行同業(yè)拆息的18家銀行之一。有關官員稱，巴克萊銀行在其利息成本上對他們說謊，這使得該銀行看上去比它本來更強大。但倫敦銀行同業(yè)拆息被用于制定世界各地數(shù)百萬人需要支付的利率。