HSBC Reputation 'Crushed' by Mexican Money Laundering, Says CEO American Banker
go to original February 6, 2013

Matt Taibbi: After laundering $800 million in drug money, how did HSBC exec's avoid jail time? (DemocracyNow.org)

HSBC's reputation was "crushed" after it agreed to pay $1.92 billion to settle U.S. probes of money laundering in places such as Mexico, Chief Executive Officer Stuart Gulliver said.

"I've been in the firm 33 years and this gives me absolutely no pleasure whatsoever," he told U.K. lawmakers in London today. "You shouldn't be under any illusion as to how seriously we take this and how upsetting this whole thing has been. We've crushed our reputation with the Mexican events."

The settlement included a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice. The U.K.'s Financial Services Authority said the London-based bank will have to employ an independent monitor to oversee compliance with anti- money laundering requirements.

HSBC's Mexican branches had become so well-known to drug traffickers as the place to launder proceeds from illicit sales that cartels began using special boxes to speed transactions, U.S. prosecutors have said.

Read the whole story at American Banker

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