US: HSBC to pay $100m probe into currency rigging

HSBC Holdings on Thursday, January 18, agreed to pay US$101.5 million to settle a US criminal probe into the rigging of currency transactions, which has already led the conviction of one of its former bankers.

The payment includes a US$63.1 million fine plus US$38.4 million in restitution to a corporate client, according to a deferred prosecution agreement filed on Thursday with the US District Court in Brooklyn, New York.

In the settlement with the US Department of Justice, HSBC also agreed to bolster its internal controls, and admitted and accepted responsibility for wrongdoing underlying two criminal wire fraud charges filed on Thursday against the bank, according to the agreement.

Deferred prosecution agreements let companies avoid criminal charges so long as they comply with the terms.

Thursday’s sanctions came a month after HSBC was freed from a five-year deferred prosecution agreement over its alleged dealings with Mexican drug cartels and other money launderers, and conducting of transactions for customers in countries barred by US sanctions. It was fined US$1.92 billion in that case.

Full Content: Financial Times

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