Mexico Made 11 Laundering Accusations Involving HSBC

Mexico presented 11 accusations involving transactions at HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA) for money laundering, one of which allegedly implicated bank personnel, and the lender was subject to fines, Finance Minister Jose Antonio Meade said.

“They were given time to correct” their policies, Meade said in an interview broadcast today by Radio Formula in Mexico City. “When that didn’t happen in a timely manner, HSBC was subject to fines and penalties,” he said.

HSBC had no comment, said a press official in Mexico City who declined to be named under company policy.

Executives from the bank apologized July 17 to a U.S. Senate subcommittee that told them that over the last decade they’d given terrorists and drug cartels access to U.S. dollars and the U.S. financial system. Compliance chief David Bagley announced his resignation during the hearing.

“HSBC could have been implicated in 11 instances, one of which linked some of its officials,” Meade said. “What is being made public today is an investigation that had been carried out in Mexico more than four years ago, and the matter was completely corrected.”

Meade said 10 of the accusations involved administrative violations and the one against HSBC personnel could result in criminal penalties.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nacha Cattan in Mexico City at ncattan@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Joshua Goodman at jgoodman19@bloomberg.net