On the recordMarch 22, 2013
under the American system of justice where Lady Justice is blindfolded, there should never be a prosecution- free zone. But that is what the Department of Justice announced there is on Tuesday, December 11 of last year. They said they would fine but they would not indict and they would not prosecute Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation for laundering $800 million in illicit drug money; for laundering $600 million in transactions that violated U.S. sanctions against Iran, Sudan, Cuba, and other countries against American law; and for allowing $200 trillion to bypass the sanctions and money-laundering filters. As the New York Times reported, the Department of Justice decided not to indict HSBC ``over concerns that criminal charges could jeopardize one of the world's largest banks, ultimately destabilizing the global financial system.'' Our Attorney General repeated this justification on March 6, 2013, before the Senate Judiciary Committee, saying: I am concerned that the size of some of these institutions becomes so large, it does become difficult to prosecute them. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The time of the Senator has expired.
