BUENOS AIRES, March 21 (UPI) — Argentina on Tuesday filed charges accusing British bank HSBC with helping clients launder money and evade taxes, court papers say.
Prosecutors said the bank used “fake receipts” in order to launder $77 million, the British Broadcasting Corp, reported.
“On the basis of what’s been investigated so far, in six months we’ve recorded 392 million pesos ($77 million) in fraudulent transactions, generated by evasion and money laundering,” said the head of the country’s tax agency Ricardo Echegaray.
“We hope to recover what is due and see the courts apply an appropriate penalty,” he said.
The bank, which was fined $1.9 billion by the U.S. government to settle money laundering accusations in 2012, said it was cooperating with authorities.
“We are committed to working cooperatively with authorities to ensure a thorough review and appropriate resolution of the matter,” in Argentina, Lyssette Bravo, a banks spokeswoman said.
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