Banking bribes probe

ONE of Britain’s biggest banks is linked to a bribery investigation which could potentially trigger a criminal prosecution in America.

The US Department of Justice is investigating claims employees at a power station owned by Standard Chartered bribed government officials in Indonesia.

The alleged payments by Maxpower Group between 2012 and 2015 were intended to help it win work. Standard Chartered took majority control of the firm last year.

Investigators are examining how much bank executives on the Maxpower board knew and if it had adequate controls. Maxpower said the allegations provided a ‘onesided and partial view of operations’. Standard Chartered said: ‘We pro-actively referred this matter to the appropriate authorities.’