HSBC has been found out laundering billions of dollars for Mexican drug cartels as well as some "suspicious" money eminating from Iraq, Libya and Syria. The rules governing such practices are well-known while the techniques for detecting it are fairly straightforward. So what went wrong? Well, nothing actually. HSBC were simply doing what banks have been doing for years - acting as criminal organisations. This is what the neoliberal experiment in de-regulation has delivered - a world economy that is nothing more than organised crime. And how will HSBC be punished for helping those who kill our children with drugs and those who murder their own citizens? Will individual executives responsible for such law breaking be hauled in front of a court and then sentenced to life imprisonment? We'll see, but so far it doesn't look good. The US seems content with an "apology" from the bank and are set to "fine" the bank - in other words it is going to tax income from illegal activities - but no executives have yet been named and there is no sign that individuals will be put on trial. Nothing demonstrates the essentially criminal nature of our economic system than this, nor how deeply involved our politicians are. To add insult to injury shares in the bank have actually risen in value - a clear indication as to how the de-regulated market regards banking crime. It is for this and crimes like it that ordinary people face an uncertain and insecure future in which the word "austerity" is nothing more than a codeword for making the poor pay for the crimes of the wealthy.
No comments:
Post a Comment