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In this case it actually wasn't though. The case was never tried. In the US the government can impose huge fines for AML violations directly, without ever havin
by thu2111 7y ago
In this case it actually wasn't though. The case was never tried. In the US the government can impose huge fines for AML violations directly, without ever having to prove their case. Combined with a culture of hyper-aggressive prosecutors and you don't really get justice in the traditional sense. Dig into the details and you'll see that HSBC's "crime" looks very different to how it's been publicly portrayed.
- dmos62 7y agoThey sabotaged their own money laundering filters: they edited e.g. "Pablo Escobar" to "Pablo Escobar-", so that that activity wouldn't get flagged. What are your optics of that?
- thu2111 7y agoSo the USG claims. But they claim many things; without a trial and a proper defence who knows the truth? A lot of the claims in that case were dubious, like the idea that every transaction connected to Mexico should have been treated as inherently suspicious. Why? Well, because the Treasury decided that would have been convenient for their case. What about the huge numbers of non-suspicious Mexican transactions? Irrelevant - HSBC should have institutionally "just known".