Hsbc fined $1.9 billion

If you've ever been arrested on a drug charge, if you've ever spent even a day in jail for having a stem of marijuana in your pocket or "drug paraphernalia" in your gym bag, Assistant Attorney General and longtime Bill Clinton pal Lanny Breuer has a message for you: Bite me. Breuer this week signed off on a settlement deal with the British banking giant HSBC that is the ultimate insult to every ordinary person who's ever had his life altered by a narcotics charge. Despite the fact that HSBC admitted to laundering billions of dollars for Colombian and Mexican drug cartels (among others) and violating a host of important banking laws (from the Bank Secrecy Act to the Trading With the Enemy Act), Breuer and his Justice Department elected not to pursue criminal prosecutions of the bank, opting instead for a "record" financial settlement of $1.9 billion, which as one analyst noted is about five weeks of income for the bank.

www.rollingstone.com

Hovered from another site but surely proof that this whole wretched system is set up to protect those in positions of power.

Looks like it's pay day

That sounds like one of Matt Taibbi's rants. An ultra-liberal with an axe to grind with EVERYONE.

(disgusting ruling by the way)

Dominos almost ready to be tipped over... takes such a long time setting them up, being so careful and going back and fixing places that start to fall prematurely or whatever

First time I have really read an article from rollingstone (uk based) really enjoyed the article though.

Work in the sector but the inequality of this rulling is astounding.

People lose everything when caught dealing, Hsbc lose 5wks profit after handling $374.8 billion.

The drug war, you thought it was a war to end drug use...lol...

It is a war that turns drugs and money into a weapon against liberty.

*edit* not directed at anyone particularly and saying you thought something about the drugwar, if the shoe fits, wear it.