A former cabinet minister has written to the Financial Conduct Authority urging the regulator to act on what he alleges is evidence HSBC aided money laundering in South Africa.
Peter Hain, who was Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under Gordon Brown, and is now a member of the House of Lords, said he wants HSBC to be investigated for “possible criminal complicity” in aiding the Gupta family in South Africa to move money out of the country.
He told the House of Lords that he has written to the FCA and the Treasury to urge action.
Lord Hain came to the UK from South Africa as a teenager. His family were very prominent anti-apartheid campaigners in the country, who were jailed for their protests before coming to the UK.
Lord Hain said in a speech to the House of Lords that transactions by the Gupta family were flagged as suspicious by HSBC, but he alleged the London HQ of the bank chose to ignore this.
HSBC’s share price is largely unmoved by Mr Hain’s claims.
In 2012, HSBC was fined by US regulators for having poor money laundering controls.
The FCA confirmed it has received the letter from Lord Hain and will respond in due course.
