HSBC Holdings plc is a British imperialist bank and holding company. It's the second largest bank in Europe, only falling behind the French BNP Paribas. It employs 226,059 workers in 53 countries and territories as of 2020.[1][2]
Founded in 1865 as the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) in the context of opium trafficking and its subsequent wars in China,[3][4] the bank is known for its money laundering practices in connection with international drug trafficking cartels in Latin America and financing international terrorist organizations.[5][6] A 2012 US Senate report detailed how HSBC helped Mexican drug lords circumvent law enforcement to launder money.[7][8] HSBC made a deal with the Department of Justice to pay $1.256 Billion USD to avoid any prosecutions of those involved in laundering money for drug cartels.[9]
References
- ↑ “During 2020, we reduced the number of employees expressed in full-time equivalent staff (‘FTE’) and contractors by 11,011. This included a 9,292 reduction in FTE to 226,059.”
HSBC Holdings plc (2020). Annual report (p. 29). [PDF] - ↑ “We support over 1.3 million business customers in 53 countries and territories, ranging from small enterprises focused primarily on their domestic markets to large companies operating globally.”
HSBC Holdings plc (2020). Annual report (p. 32). [PDF] - ↑ “Several large commercial houses were organized to control the Shanghai trade, under the management of foreign merchants, mostly British. The several most well known and prominent commercial houses established with in this seventy years were the "Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation", the "Shanghai Steam Navigation Company" the "Oriental Banking Corporation" and the "China Merchants Stearn Navigation Company." Among the various items of foreign trade, opium and cotton were the major items of imports which amounted to roughly 75% of total imports annually.”
Gerald Tsai Jr. (1949). The economic development of Shanghai, 1842-1910. [PDF] - ↑ “Also known as the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, HSBC has always been associated with drugs. Founded in 1865, HSBC became the major commercial bank in colonial China after the conclusion of the Second Opium War.”
Matt Taibbi (2013-02-14). Gangster bankers: too big to jail - ↑ "HSBC's $1.9B money laundering settlement approved by judge" (2013-07-03). CBC News. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
- ↑ “Despite cracking down on its customers with even the most flimsy connection to Islam, HSBC itself has been linked to terrorism financing, including Hezbollah and 9/11 and the laundering of billions of dollars by Latin American drug cartels.”
"HSBC targets account of Syrian refugees in the UK" (2014-08-08). RT. Retrieved 2022-02-08. - ↑ Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (2012). U.S. vulnerabilities to money laundering, drugs, and terrorist financing: HSBC case history. [PDF] United States Senate.
- ↑ “Global banking giant HSBC and its U.S. affiliate exposed the U.S. financial system to a wide array of money laundering, drug trafficking, and terrorist financing risks due to poor anti-money laundering (AML) controls, a Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations probe has found.”
"HSBC exposed U.S. financial system to money laundering, drug, terrorist financing risks" (2012-07-12). Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs. Retrieved 2022-02-09. - ↑ Department of Justice. "HSBC Holdings Plc. and HSBC Bank USA N.A. Admit to Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions Violations, Forfeit $1.256 Billion in Deferred Prosecution Agreement"