As recently as one year ago HSBC refused to provide regulators with international banking information. Sources close to many investigations knew or suspected HSBC was aiding terrorism, money laundering, and other related issues. Taking lessons from predatory lender Household International, now owned by HSBC, the bank simply refused to answer questions. Here are new results from this investigation:
The bank accounts of more than 5,000 suspected terrorists are being monitored by Britain’s biggest financiers following fresh intelligence from MI5. This figure is the security services’ highest estimate yet for the number of British-based individuals suspected of involvement in plotting attacks. Senior banking sources have told The Observer that 200 current accounts have recently been frozen as part of the fight against the financing of jihadist terrorism.
The big four banks – Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland, which owns NatWest – have been instructed by MI5 and the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control to monitor ’suspicious’ transactions involving named individuals and companies. Sources at Britain’s biggest bank, HSBC, said that ‘just north’ of 5,000 UK accounts had been ‘flagged up’ and were being watched as part of evidence-gathering against suspects.
It has also emerged that financial details provided by banks played a key part in last month’s arrests involving an alleged plot to blow up airliners and the more recent arrests linked to an alleged network of training terror camps. Banks have been told to monitor ‘cross-border payments’ amid evidence that British-based cells are affiliated to terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda. A senior banking source said: ‘Every cross-border payment passes through an electronic system. The cross-border stuff we are particularly interested in.’
Each of the big four banks has frozen the accounts of around 50 individuals who are suspects, according to the source. The sums involved, however, are generally modest, with most terrorists appreciating that moving large amounts through current accounts can attract suspicion.
However, the extent of the banks’ involvement in neutering the terrorist threat has sparked a fierce backlash from some British Muslims amid claims of mistaken identities and the persecution of innocent account-holders. Ahmed Salama was stunned when his HSBC account was frozen nine days ago. He received a letter informing him that HSBC wished to end their relationship after 11 years.
It is clear that HSBC would not have helped in this effort if they had not been ordered to.
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