Tory MP Sam Gyimah has suggested that regulators in the US have "jumped the gun" because they have "an agenda" in their pursuit of British investment bank Standard Chartered.
Standard Chartered has issued a partial rebuttal of the claims, saying the allegations do not present "a full and accurate picture of the facts."
Sam Gyimah, a former investment banker and rising star on the Tory backbenches told CNN on Thursday: "A reasonable expectation here should be innocent until proven guilty."
Standard Chartered is referred to a rogue institution as a statement of fact. That is really concerning, the exaggeration and the lack of sense of proportion. It makes one wonder what the motivations are," Gyimah said.
"One thing that is clear - this is not the language of a careful and sober regulator," he added, suggesting the New York State Department of Financial Services had "jumped the gun".
The allegations are likely to be included in a forthcoming parliamentary review chaired by the influential Tory MP and former adviser to the Treasury Andrew Tyrie. Separately the Financial Services Authority is thought to be still investigating several UK banks over the LIBOR scandal, after Barclays was given a record fine after admitting to have rigged the interbank lending rate over a long period between 2006 and early 2009.
Gyimah's comments echo those of John Mann, a Labour member of the Treasury select committee, who on Wednesday suggested that the US reglators have an "anti-British bias".
“I have no truck whatsoever with British banks profiteering from Iran and Burma, nor with US banks profiteering from drug and illegal arms money or the private accounts of world dictators," said Mann.
“The British Parliament should instigate an unbiased and far reaching investigation into money laundering in Britain, involving British banks and the endangering the well being of British interests and the British people.”