FP: FP staff: Cobra :19 June 2013
It seems money laundering won’t see an end in India any time soon.
Even after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) fined ICICI, HDFC and Axis banks for flouting customer norms, a recent Cobrapost expose shows how some employees in HSBC and Standard Chartered have also been involved in accepting black money and agreeing to launder it.
According to a CNN-IBN report, HSBC and Standard Chartered officers have been caught in a Cobrapost sting operation, offering to launder money.
Reuters
A Cobrapost undercover reporter posing as a politician’s aide was offered lockers for black money and senior bank officials confirmed on camera that money laundering is a service offered by all.
Reacting to the latest sting operation, HSBC has suspended employees who were seen soliciting black money on camera.
In a statement, the bank said, “HSBC a zero-tolerance policy for breaches of law and regulation and the bank takes seriously any reports or allegations of such breaches. Our employees featured in the (CNN-IBN) news report are on leave pending completion of the investigation. We will take appropriate action, including dismissal, if any employee is found after investigation to have breached the law or our policy.”
Meanwhile, Standard Chartered said it is investigating “failures” in banking standards. The bank said that it will take disciplinary action.
But, there’s a bright side too. According to the report, the Cobrapost expose also showed that a few bank officers refused to accept money when asked to illegally transfer funds from foreign accounts by an undercover reporter.
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