> HSBC was fined because it failed to follow the rules put in place to prevent money laundering.
First, failing to follow rules put in place to prevent money laundering is not itself money laundering. Just like failing to follow rules put in place to prevent traffic accidents is different than driving your car into someone.
Second, the true story is one degree removed even from what you say. A key element of the government's case against HSBC was that it classified Mexico as "standard or medium risk" when classifying it as high risk would have triggered additional controls intended to prevent money laundering: https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/legacy/2012/... (pages 7-8). The government states that HSBC "should have known Mexico was high risk" based on various publications discussing money-laundering risks in Mexico.
HSBC was not an innocent party, but it was guilty of regulatory rather than criminal violations. It failed to put country X in risk category Y; it failed to adequately staff it's AML department, etc. For those regulatory violations, it paid a fine, which was the appropriate punishment.
First, failing to follow rules put in place to prevent money laundering is not itself money laundering. Just like failing to follow rules put in place to prevent traffic accidents is different than driving your car into someone.
Second, the true story is one degree removed even from what you say. A key element of the government's case against HSBC was that it classified Mexico as "standard or medium risk" when classifying it as high risk would have triggered additional controls intended to prevent money laundering: https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/legacy/2012/... (pages 7-8). The government states that HSBC "should have known Mexico was high risk" based on various publications discussing money-laundering risks in Mexico.
HSBC was not an innocent party, but it was guilty of regulatory rather than criminal violations. It failed to put country X in risk category Y; it failed to adequately staff it's AML department, etc. For those regulatory violations, it paid a fine, which was the appropriate punishment.