HSBC used for Mexican drug money, says report

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Inadequate controls at HSBC allowed it to be used to launder suspicious money from around the world, including Mexican drug money, a damning US report has found.

Large sums of Mexican drug money as well as suspicious funds from Syria, the Cayman Islands, Iran and Saudi Arabia passed through the bank, according to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. In a statement, HSBC said it is "right" that it is held accountable for what happened and that it would fix the problems. The report followed a year-long inquiry, which included a review of 1.4 million documents and interviews with 75 HSBC officials and bank regulators. Its findings will be discussed at a hearing on Tuesday at which HSBC executives are expected to testify.

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