HSBC, one the largest banks in the world, moved millions of scammers money regardless of the warning, BBC reported Sunday.
According to a leaked file, HSBC allowed scammers to move dollars around the world even though they had the idea that it was a Ponzi scheme. The money was moved from the U.S business to the Hong Kong HSBC accounts, the report says.
The leaked documents, also known as the FinCEN files, are the details of the bank’s “suspicious activity reports.”
The reports had clear indications that HSBC invested in a Ponzi scheme just after a $1.9 billion fine in the U.S over money laundering.
However, HSBC claimed that they already reported the activities to meet the legal duties. The documents showed another large bank in the U.S supporting HSBC to move $1 billion.
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How HSBC got Involved with Scammers?
2,657 leaked documents were reported as FinCEN Files where 2,100 files were marked as suspicious activity reports (SAR).
The documents cover transactions between 2000 and 2017 which worth $2 trillion. The SAR’s documents were shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and Buzzfeed.
Immediately, the report of HSBC getting involved with the scammers went viral globally.
According to the law, if the banks have evidence that the clients are moving the money for criminal activity, they should stop moving it.
However, the FinCen leak had clear indications that some of the world’s biggest banks including HSBC helped criminals to transfer and hide money. The cons then used anonymous British companies to conceal millions of dollars.
Fergus Shiel, from ICIJ, said “the FinCEN Files are an insight into what banks know about the vast flows of dirty money across the globe.”
The leaked data on HSBC ‘involved with scammers’ could impact the national security of the United States, as said by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Besides, the network proposed plans to review the anti-money laundering programs.
The U.K authorities are also thinking about a reform of the company registration processes to reduce money laundering in the future.
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