Translated "Avante!" article by Jorge Cadima, Member of the PCP International Department
The end of the year brought about news on record fines invested, by the USA’s Ministry of Justice, on two banking colossus, the British HSBC and the Swiss UBS. In the first case, the accusation concerns money laundering and illegal transactions. The second, both the Libor and Euribor index manipulation, in self-profit. At first sight, they seem to be moralizing fines. But this story is not enlightening.
The accusations against the HSBC, which Forbes has considered to be the third greatest bank in the world, involve “ laundering of thousands of million dollars, coming from the Colombian and Mexican drug cartels (among others) and the violation of numerous important banking laws“, according to journalist Matt Taibi, in the Rolling Stone magazine (2101.12.13). The laundering accusation is not surprising. The British bank was founded in Hong Kong, in 1865, following the Opium Wars, during which the Western imperialist powers obliged imperial China to accept the opium free trade within its territory and thand out numerous colonial “ concessions”, among which, Hong Kong. The HSBC was the British “ traders” bank in the region, and opium represented 70% of the sea trade between India ( an also British colony) and China (in Le Monde Diplomatique, Feb 2010).
What might be surprising ( or maybe not) is that the fine is part of an agreement, under which the HSBC will not be presented at Court. The New York Times (Deal Book), 2012.12.10), the financial news service, explains: “ The state and federal authorities have decided not to settle accusations against the HSBC[…], fearing that [ it] might endanger one of the greatest world’s banks and ultimately, destabilize the global financial system”. The blackmailing which “justified” billions of public money’s injection, in order to save bankrupt banks is currently mentioned as to not proceed a legal action against the drug money laundering. The Economist (in 2012.12.15), an Anglo-Saxon financial system pillar, is ironic: “too big to jail”, a “to big to fail” quibble, which became popular in 2008. Taibi was (fairly) upset with the scandalous difference of treatment towards drug addicts or occasional consumers within the USA, condemned to long term prison sentences and that might have the whole of their belongings confiscated, and the bankers who profit with the trafficking, none of which will be presented at Court and for whom the greatest previewed penalty, concerning the agreement, is a postponing of millionaire rewards. A same pretext was invoked in order not to present in Court anyone coming from UBS: “ Officials from the Department of Justice [in the USA], have decided not to settle an accusation against the company in Zurich, fearing that might jeopardize its stability” (in Wall Street Journal, 2012.12.20) . The Banking does not show up in Court. Justice is not the same for all. It carries the class mark.
But the Economist ‘s news raises a suspicion, that the main fine cause, might not even be related to drugs. It mentions several investigations against banks “ which facilitated illegal financial transfers from Iran, Sudan, Myanmar and Libya”( “illegal” before USA’s sanctions). It publishes a list of banks which have received the seven greatest fines in the USA. In all cases, the banks were accused of having made transfers from Iran. Four of them, from Cuba. All fined banks were foreign. And the magazine adds: “ the risks of falling apart from the North-American […] foreign policy were highlighted“.
Sometimes bankers paths collide. When that occurs, sponsor -states take over. Just as in the movies, the Godfather holding more weapons and less scruples, wins. The “contradictions amid the Octopus” are also set by force. And that is how territories are delimited.
