HDNet's 'Dan Rather Reports' to Investigate How the Government of Iran Laundered Billions of Dollars With the Help of One of Our Country's Strongest Allies

HDNet's 'Dan Rather Reports' to Investigate How the Government of Iran Laundered Billions of Dollars With the Help of One of Our Country's Strongest Allies

'Dan Rather Reports' presents new information detailing how Lloyds of London helped Iran build nuclear weapons - Tuesday, September 15 at 8:00 p.m. ET

DALLAS, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- This Tuesday, "Dan Rather Reports" will present new information in a shocking money laundering scandal. An investigation in the United States has found that Lloyds TSB, and other western banks, have helped Iran acquire billions of dollars for its weapons program.

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How did one of our strongest allies in the war on terror allow a major bank to get off scot-free after assisting the government of Iran?

One of the biggest problems faced by Iranian government leaders in building a massive weapons program - including the development of a nuclear bomb - was that black market suppliers want to be paid for their material in U.S. dollars. These dollars are supposed to be nearly impossible for the Iranians to get since Washington imposed a wall of sanctions on the nation it calls the worlds top sponsor of terrorism.

But, while sanctions have been in place for years to isolate the Iranians, not only are they ineffective, but, western banks have been helping the Iranians get around the rules and get their hands of enormous amounts of cash--enough cash to finance a nuclear weapon that could used against the United States or its allies.

One of the largest western banks assisting this effort is venerable British institution, Lloyds TSB.

"They were transmitting money through New York banks to buy material for weapons of mass destruction and other things," said Robert Morgenthau, Manhattan's District Attorney for more than thirty years. "And they were stripping the identification so that the New York banks did not know that this was Iranian money."

This was no rogue operation inside Lloyds TSB, however. Lloyds TSB literally had a "how to" manual of instructions in the disguising of money.

"It wasn't some maverick freelancer in a large institution, it was done with full knowledge and full consent at a very high level in Lloyds TSB," said Andrew MacKinley, a member of the British Parliament. "So put quite frankly, it stinks."

Since this story was first reported, it has received little news coverage and no one has yet to spend any time in prison - either in the U.S. or Great Britain.

To avoid a potentially embarrassing trial, Lloyds admitted wrongdoing and agreed to pay a $350 million fine. Under the settlement, the bank has opened its records to investigators seeking to unravel Iran's secret weapons financing activities.

Lloyds bankers will be spared criminal charges in the United States, but that could change if the probe ties their money laundering directly to Iran's weapons programs.

"Dan Rather Reports: Iran's Manhattan Project" premieres on HDNet on Tuesday, September 15 at 8:00 p.m. ET with an encore presentation at 11:00 p.m. PT to accommodate West Coast prime time.

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Profile: International Entertainment