June 1 (Bloomberg) — From their offices atop Tehran’s 15- story Sayeh Tower, HSBC Holdings Plc bankers have helped lend more than $825 million to the Iranian government, which the U.S. says sponsors terrorism and provided a haven to al-Qaeda members after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Half a world away in New York, where London-based HSBC is the biggest retail bank in the state, with 412 branches, the company takes deposits just two blocks from the site of the twin towers that were destroyed in the Sept. 11 attacks. HSBC is doing business in other countries that the U.S. says sponsor terrorism, including Libya, Sudan and Syria, through direct and indirect ties, according to bank documents and interviews with executives. HSBC also banked for the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein, according to a Central Intelligence Agency report published in October 2004.
Archive for the Category »Terrorism «
The Treasury Department has fined HSBC at least 18 times under terror-related sanctions since the start of 1998. One penalty was for a transfer in April 2000 of $100,000 benefiting the Taliban, which at the time was running Afghanistan and providing bin Laden and his al-Qaeda organization with the base from which he plotted the Sept. 11 attacks. Some U.S. regulators say HSBC’s controls are inadequate. At Household - HSBC Watch, consumer advocates say HSBC’s control over predatory lender Household International are inadequate. Household International is now part of HSBC. “In our opinion HSBC only controls what they need to, which isn’t very much. Profits for banks and oil companies are up, in which case fines and settlements are minor in relation to profits” said the group.
June 1 (Bloomberg) — From their offices atop Tehran’s 15- story Sayeh Tower, HSBC Holdings Plc bankers have helped lend more than $825 million to the Iranian government, which the U.S. says sponsors terrorism and provided a haven to al-Qaeda members after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. HSBC is doing business in other countries that the U.S. says sponsor terrorism, including Libya, Sudan and Syria, through direct and indirect ties, according to bank documents and interviews with executives. HSBC also banked for the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein, according to a Central Intelligence Agency report published in October 2004.
Legal experts remind consumers that US law allows judges to triple the damage awards in RICO (racketeering, influence and corruption) cases. Currently Household International, a predatory subsidiary of HSBC, is charged under RICO in two cases. One is Beneficial Finance and H&R Block, and the other is a Tennessee case. Some analysts think Shea v Household could result in RICO suits as well.
United States based consumer advocates Household - HSBC Watch said today that HSBC Plc took another blow to its reputation as the Account 98 scandal grows. HSBC stands accused of passing funds to organizations bankrolling Palestinian suicide bombers.
