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#new New York AG Letitia James Caught up in $9.6 Billion Terror Finance Cover-Up ScandalJames is facing allegations that she knew a New York City bank was funneling billions of dollars to terror groups including Iran and Hezbollah and did nothing to stop it. The potential cover-up involves $9.6 billion in illegal transactions that were allegedly funneled through Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) to Iranian and Hezbollah-linked entities - Which violates U.S. sanctions. #newyork The claims stem from a whistleblower-driven lawsuit that's pending before the U.S. Second Circuit Court. According to court documents and whistleblowers, SCB, a London-based bank with operations in New York, allegedly facilitated $9.6 billion in unreported foreign exchange transactions between 2008 and 2013, involving 92 businesses designated by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs). These transactions, processed through SCB’s New York branch, are said to have benefited groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, al-Qaeda, and the Taliban, as well as Iranian entities under U.S. sanctions.Whistleblowers, including former SCB executive Julian Knight, claim the bank knowingly violated its obligations. Instead, the bank allegedly concealed these transactions, including those linked to a Pakistani fertilizer company supplying explosives to the Taliban and a Gambian front company tied to a Hezbollah financier.The accusations against James center on claims that her office was briefed on the illegal transactions in early 2024 but didn't do anything to stop it. Whistleblowers and terrorist financing experts reportedly met with senior staff from James’ office, including Deputy Scott Spiegleman, in February and March of last year, presenting evidence of the $9.6 billion in unreported payments. One meeting was allegedly recorded, showing that James’ team acknowledged the payments were not included in prior SCB sanctions settlements. Despite this, James’ office approved the renewal of SCB’s state banking license, prompting allegations of a cover-up. Some say additional unreported transactions, especially through mainland China branches could be higher than $100 billion.The Federal Reserve is also implicated for allegedly failing to block SCB’s payments to sanctioned entities. The SWIFT payment platform, partially managed by IBM Promontory, is accused of enabling these transactions by not flagging violations. The lawsuit further alleges that career DOJ officials, including John-David Barnea (Southern District of New York), Gregg Maisell (D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office), and FBI agent Matthew Komar, blocked action on the case in 2024 to avoid political fallout for the Biden administration ahead of the election. SCB has a history of sanctions violations, having paid over $1.7 billion in fines in 2012 and 2019 for breaches involving Iran and other sanctioned nations. Letitia James is currently the subject of a federal criminal investigation related to allegations of mortgage fraud