November 10 2017
HSBC has revealed that it closed accounts linked to South Africa’s Gupta family corruption investigation, admitting for the first time concerns about its potential ties to the snowballing scandal.
The bank said it had also flagged up its worries to the financial crime expert who has overseen its money-laundering controls since it was fined a record $1.9bn in 2012 for processing cash for Mexican drug lords and terrorists. HSBC admitted on Friday that it was forced to close bank accounts held by “front companies” associated with the Guptas.
Fresh detail about transactions involving HSBC could lead to the bank facing investigation by US authorities, because they were made in dollars and cleared by the bank’s New York office.
