SCOTUS Denies Petition to Hear Case on British Bank's Alleged Sanctions Violations

The U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 26 said it won't review whether whistleblower Brutus Trading should've been granted a hearing by a lower court in its case accusing U.K.-based Standard Chartered Bank of violating sanctions against Iran.

Brutus initially tried to alert the U.S. government that Standard Chartered was engaging in "systematic and massive violations" of U.S. sanctions in Iran -- beyond what the government knew -- when the U.S. entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the British bank in 2012. The U.S. voluntarily dismissed the case, but Brutus had asked the Supreme Court to review the case to clarify the court's 2023 ruling that the U.S. can voluntarily dismiss a whistleblower False Claims Act case after not initially intervening in the action (see 2401310078).

The high court denied Brutus' petition after the U.S. and Standard Chartered waived the right to respond to the petition (see 2402070019).