Describing it as a policy of “too big to jail,” Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley is blasting the U.S. Department of Justice for offering “deferred prosecutions” to large financial institutions, in particular a deal struck last week with banking giant HSBC.
Last Tuesday, the Justice Department entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with HSBC related to more than $800 million in narcotics proceeds that drug traffickers laundered through the bank’s Mexican and American affiliates, as well as over $600 million in transactions that violated U.S. sanctions against Cuba, Iran, Libya, Sudan, and Burma. As part of the settlement, HSBC agreed to a $1.9 billion fine.
