In 2012, HSBC was fined $1.9 billion and reached a deferred prosecution agreement for facilitating money laundering by the Mexican drug cartel led by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. The US Department of Justice was prepared to pursue criminal charges against HSBC executives and seek prison terms, but was persuaded to strike a deal instead.
One of those who had been in the Justice Department and had paid close attention to what was going on was Richard Elias.
“Rich” Elias went to Missouri Law and won many honors. He started out defending corporations, but, “after seeing firsthand how corporations often use their money, power, and influence to intimidate and thwart petty complainants,” he turned to pursuing malpractice.
Elias said: ‘I was at the Ministry of Justice when HSBC’s DPA was seized. It was a very unpopular deal within the department. I didn’t work there but I was aware of it. I was outraged by the conduct of HSBC and that it was symptomatic of bigger problems with the banks. It has always marked me. »
Elias moved into private practice, “with a mission to carry matters of significant public interest”. HSBC did the trick.
What he saw, he said, was the perpetration of “very horrific acts of violence” by the drug dealers, and HSBC, the bank that had laundered their money, receiving only ” a relatively light sentence – that’s what made her so unpopular in the Justice Department.” Elias said: “It was indisputable that HSBC consistently allowed billions of dollars to be laundered through its branches. It was egregious what they had done – accepting large sums of cash, $200,000 at a time, receiving specially wrapped boxes full of cash the same size as the tellers’ display cases. What was happening was unmistakable.
A man wearing a pig’s nose and holding fake laundered banknotes during a protest outside an HSBC branch in Mexico City
(AFP/Getty)
The US Anti-Terrorism Act “imposes liability on those who commit a terrorist act and on those who knowingly or recklessly support those who commit the terrorist act”. The more Elias looked into it, the more he became convinced that “by laundering their money, HSBC was materially supporting the cartel and horrific acts of terror.” As far as a bank and a drug cartel were concerned, however, this was a largely untested law. Nevertheless, Elias decided to give it a shot. He would sue HSBC under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Elias and his colleagues returned to the archives. They were looking for American victims of the Sinaloa violence (they had to be American citizens for the law to apply).
They were murdered by wrapping their heads in duct tape. Their cause of death was asphyxiation. The bodies were found thrown into the back of a truck
An Elias descended on Rafael Morales, Jr. In 2010, Morales Jr and his family celebrated his wedding ceremony at El Señor de la Misericordia Catholic Church in Ciudad Juárez, the city where his new bride had been raised. As the congregation walked out of the church, Sinaloa assassins, all armed with assault rifles, awaited them in the churchyard. In the distance, barricading the road to the church, were corrupt Mexican federal police working for the cartel.
Chapo’s assassins were there under orders to kidnap Guadalupe Morales. Those present at the wedding tried to dissuade the orchestrator of the attack, Irvin Enriquez, by saying that they were innocent. Enriquez ignored their pleas.
They ordered everyone, including young children, to lie face down. Panicked, a man tried to flee but was shot in the back and killed. They started beating Guadalupe in front of the congregation. Rafael Jr’s brother and witness, Jaime, shouted for the men to stop, at which point they grabbed him, his brother and his uncle, forced them into two separate vehicles and drove off. Corrupt Mexican police then closed the door to the courtyard and locked it, trapping the horrified wedding guests inside. Morales’ men were then transported to two separate “safe houses” where they were tortured.
Later that evening, Enriquez was in a meeting in Sunland Park, New Mexico when he received a radio call from one of the Sinaloa Cartel killers over two-way radio. Enriquez was excited and bragged about the wedding kidnappings. The assassin asked Morales’ three men to identify themselves over the radio. Those present at the meeting again encouraged Enriquez to release the men, declaring that they were innocent. Enriquez nevertheless ordered that they be killed.
HSBC was fined $1.9 billion and reached a deferred prosecution agreement for facilitating money laundering by the Mexican drug cartel led by El Chapo
(AFP/Getty)
They were murdered by wrapping their heads in duct tape. Their cause of death was asphyxiation. The bodies were found abandoned in the back of a truck at a residence…
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Source: www.independent.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-06-13 20:30:08
