The money launderer - HSBC - and the helper - OCC

That's the conclusion of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.  And, the Subcommittee accuses the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) of just sitting by while the law was being broken. Here is what the subcommittee found:

(1) Longstanding Severe AML (Anti Money Laundering) Deficiencies. The bank didn't react when it was alerted to possible problems, didn't really assess risk and, in general, were willing accomplices.
(2) Circumventing OFAC Prohibitions. The bank allowed two affiliates to get around prohibitions on Iranian finances.
(3) Disregarding Terrorist Links. 

(4) Clearing Suspicious Bulk Travelers Cheques. The bank cleared sequentially numbered, illegibly signed, bulk U.S. dollar travelers cheques for Hokuriku Bank, which could not explain why its clients were regularly depositing up to $500,000 or more per day in U.S. dollar travelers cheques obtained in Russia into Japanese accounts.
(5) Offering Bearer Share Accounts. Over the course of a decade, HBUS opened
over 2,000high risk bearer share corporate accounts with inadequate AML controls.
(6) Allowing AML Problems to Fester. The OCC did very little to stop HSBC.  There were a few minor fines, some stiff talks but nothing more.