crockett

Just the drug related money transfers were over 7 billion. That doesn't account for the dealings with Iran and from the way that article is worded it's not even clear if that was the entire amount transferred via their Mexican operation. They also talk about $60 trillion in transactions and 17,000 accounts flagged as potentially suspicious, later in the article, so who knows how much these guys were laundering.


"Despite repeated urgings from federal officials to strengthen protections in its vast Mexican business, HSBC instead viewed the country from 2000 to 2009 as low-risk for money laundering, the Senate report found. Even after HSBC’s Mexican operation transferred more than $7 billion to the United States — a volume that law enforcement officials said had to be “illegal drug proceeds” — lax controls remained."

"Regulators have also vowed to improve. The Congressional hearings exposed weaknesses at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the national bank regulator. In 2010, the regulator found that HSBC had severe deficiencies in its anti-money laundering controls, including $60 trillion in transactions and 17,000 accounts flagged as potentially suspicious, activities that were not reviewed. Despite the findings, the regulator did not fine the bank."