Here are the business stories making the headlines locally and across the UK this morning.
British bank accused of helping to fund terrorists
A British bank that escaped prosecution for money laundering carried out billions of dollars of transactions for funders of terrorist groups, US court papers allege.
Standard Chartered, one of the UK’s largest banks, avoided prosecution by the US Department of Justice after Lord Cameron’s government intervened on its behalf in 2012.
New documents filed to a New York court claim thousands of transactions worth more than $100bn were carried out by the bank from 2008 to 2013 in breach of sanctions against Iran.
An independent expert has identified $9.6bn of foreign exchange transactions with individuals and companies designated by the US government as funding “terror groups”, including Hezbollah, Hamas, al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
Aberdeen gears up for Nuart 2024 as artists spotted painting murals around city
Aberdeen is preparing for this year’s Nuart festival with work underway on murals across the city.
Artists from around the world are beginning to brighten up buildings as part of the upcoming art festival, which starts on June 6.
Today a crane helped Hera bring to life one of the biggest murals in Nuart history.
The artwork covers the entire height of Union Point at Aberdeen Harbour.
Royal Mail warns Czech takeover risks sparking debt crunch
Royal Mail has said its sale to the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky risks triggering a financial squeeze, raising fresh fears about the potential threat to the postal service from his debt-fuelled takeover.
Parent company International Distribution Services (IDS) has said that nearly £2.4bn of loans could be called in as a result of the deal.
Investors have the right to demand repayment of nearly £1.5bn of fixed-rate bonds if a sale affects its investment-grade credit rating.
In addition, a sale of the company could also result in lenders either withdrawing or renegotiating an unused £925m borrowing facility.
Union Street roadworks begin as ‘biggest upgrade in 200 years’ ramps up
Union Street roadworks are under way in Aberdeen, with workers digging up the Granite Mile as the biggest facelift in its 200-year history gets under way.
The central section of the street was closed off about a month ago, ahead of the project really getting going.
On Monday, workmen sent sparks flying as they were seen grinding into the surface.
A huge suction excavator from WM Donald then hoovered up the debris.