To this day most Americans have been gulled into believing that the Federal Reserve was chartered in 1913 to serve as a last-resort lender to banks that were supposedly an essential economic input.

FORBES

Federal and state prosecutors have reached settlements with large international banks, including ING and the British bank Standard Chartered, for their sanctions busting transactions with countries such asCuba andIran.

FORBES: Financial Institutions: How Much More Will You Have to Spend on Anti-Money Laundering Programs to Avoid Criminal Prosecution?