HSBC to pay about $200 million for helping rich Americans hide money

QUARTZ

HSBC’s Swiss branch became the fourth bank in recent years to settle with the US Justice Department over allegations it concealed vast amounts of American clients’ money in Switzerland, agreeing this week to pay $192 million to end a decade-long saga.

The bank admitted that between 2000 and 2010, it committed tax evasion, defrauded the United States, and filed false federal tax returns. As well as relying on Swiss bank secrecy to hide the untaxed cash from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), HSBC concealed the money using tactics like code-named and numbered accounts and maintaining accounts in tax havens like Panama, the British Virgin Islands, and Liechtenstein, according to the Justice Department. At its peak the bank held about $1.26 billion in undeclared assets for its US-based clients. read more »

FAA let Boeing 737 Max continue to fly even as review found serious crash risk

THE GUARDIAN

Analysis from US regulators found plane could have averaged a fatal crash about every two to three years without design changes

According to a report dated a month after a Lion Air 737 Max crashed in October 2018, killing 189 people, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) concluded the plane could become involved in more fatal crashes without design changes. read more »

SEC Charges Founder, Digital-Asset Issuer With Fraudulent ICO

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a digital-asset entrepreneur and his company with defrauding investors in an initial coin offering (ICO) that raised more than $42 million from hundreds of investors. read more »