HSBC Used by ‘Drug Kingpins’, Says US Senate
HSBC provided a conduit for “drug kingpins and rogue nations”, according to a US Senate committee investigating money laundering claims at the bank.
Its report said suspicious funds from countries including Mexico, Iran and Syria had passed through the bank.
The president and chief executive of HSBC Bank USA, Irene Dorner, apologised to the committee for the behaviour which she said deeply regretted.
Earlier, HSBC’s head of compliance, David Bagley, resigned at the hearing.
Ms Dorner apologised “for the fact that HSBC did not live up to the expectations of our regulators, our customers, our employees, and the general public”.
She said she had worked hard to change the culture at the bank.
The bank also said it was in the process of closing 20,000 accounts in the Cayman Islands as a result of the investigation.