Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Argentine Central Bank Freezes Currency Transfers at HSBC for 30 Days

1/14/2015

BUENOS AIRES – The Argentine Central Bank, or BCRA, said it suspended for 30 days the transfer of currency abroad by the British bank HSBC due to “serious inconsistencies in recording and processing data.”

The suspension period “could be less if the organization adopts – with reliable proof – the necessary corrective measures in its computer systems to guarantee the validity of the records” of its operations, the BCRA said in a statement released on Monday.

The measure authorized by BCRA chairman Alejandro Vanoli does not affect transfers already approved or being processed.

Nor does it affect active or passive operations or services of HSBC Bank Argentina that do not entail international transfers of currency or securities.

The HSBC “did not take the steps to regularize its operations to which it had previously committed itself,” and the suspected irregularities impede “authorities’ ability to exercise full supervision of the firm,” the BCRA said.

On Jan. 7, HSBC’s main office in Buenos Aires was searched by court order following a lawsuit by tax authorities for suspected tax evasion and illegal association to evade taxes.

The Federal Public Revenue Administration, or AFIP, had filed a complaint against HSBC in November “for tax evasion and illegal association to evade taxes” through some 4,000 hidden bank accounts in Switzerland belonging to Argentine citizens.

The affiliates of HSBC in Argentina, the United States and Geneva had joined forces to create “shell companies used for hiding currencies and evading taxes,” the AFIP alleged.

HSBC’s main office in Buenos Aires was searched last August as part of a separate investigation for suspected tax evasion and money laundering. 


source

No comments: