US decision not to prosecute HSBC swayed by UK government and regulator, says report

Timon Molloy, managing editor

US prosecutors were all set to level criminal charges against HSBC in 2012 for multiple Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions violations [1], when the top leadership at the Department of Justice (DOJ) overruled them after UK authorities warned of the risk to financial stability, according to a US congressional report. [2]