HSBC Holdings has settled allegations that the bank ignored red flags for years about money laundering and will pay over $1.9 billion to resolve all allegations made by the United States Government. The settlement will resolve multiple investigations by the Justice Department, Treasury and other agencies.
In addition, according to printed reports, the bank will admit violating the Bank Secrecy Act and Trading with The Enemy Act. The investigations focused on allegations that the bank was complicit in money laundering by drug cartels and other entities that the U.S. has barred from it’s financial system.
A probe by the Senate revealed that HSBC allowed suspicious money to be hidden in flows of bulk cash between the United States and Mexico and failed to halt transactions involving Iran and other entities subject to U.S. financial sanctions.
