Warren Lee, Standard Chartered HK executive, dies in NZ car crash

Warren Lee, head of capital markets solutions at Standard Chartered Plc in Hong Kong, died along with two family members in a car crash in New Zealand. He was 53. Lee, 52-year-old Aesoon Lee and their daughter Julia Lee, 20, were killed when their car crashed near the North Island town of Tokoroa on Tuesday, New Zealand Police said in a statement. Warren and Aesoon Lee were U.S. citizens. Julia Lee was driving the car when it crashed, police said. Her 18-year-old brother, also an American living in Hong Kong, remains in a critical but stable condition in Waikato Hospital, according to the statement. “We are deeply saddened by the loss of Warren Lee,” Standard Chartered said in an e-mailed statement Friday. “We have already reached out to his family to offer assistance and support. The bank will provide counseling services to staff members as appropriate.” The family was in New Zealand to help their daughter settle at university in Auckland, where she was due to begin studies after moving from Massachusetts, police said.

Afghan official: central bank branch looted by its staff

An Afghan central bank official says that around 76 million afghanis (more than USD1 million) have been stolen by the staff members of one of the bank’s branches. Fazel Ahmad Azimi, the central bank director for Afghanistan’s southern region, said on Saturday that at least three employees were involved in the robbery — including the director of the branch in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province. After checking security camera footage, it was determined that the bank vault’s door was opened using fake keys by the branch manager and two other staff members, Azimi added. The robbery was discovered after a delegation from the central bank went there to transfer some of the funds. The suspected employees are believed to have fled to neighboring Pakistan, Azimi said.