Federal officials balked at criminally charging HSBC Bank USA in 2012 over concerns that an indictment could harm the global economy and strain relations with the United Kingdom, Republican lawmakers said Monday. In a 282-page report, the House Financial Services Committee found that then-Attorney General Eric Holder overruled the recommendations of the U.S. Justice Department's Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, or AFMLS, to prosecute the British bank for knowingly facilitating at least $1.5 billion in transactions linked to drug cartels and blacklisted entities. The bank, which in December 2012 paid various U.S. agencies a total $1.9 billion as part...
HSBC should have done more to vet the anti-money laundering compliance controls of banks it acquired in Mexico and Switzerland, the institution's former chief executive officer told British lawmakers Tuesday.
Facing parliamentary criticism, HSBC's top executives conceded Wednesday to "unacceptable" failures of its Swiss private banking unit that led to likely account abuses and subsequent reputational damage.
The U.S. government's landmark case against HSBC Holdings Plc for knowingly turning a blind eye to financial crime is seemingly fated to end much as it began: complex and messy.
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