THE BIG STORY
Secret documents show how criminals use famous banks to finance terror and death
It's unusual for you to receive our newsletter on Sunday. But today we're sharing with you an extraordinary story. BuzzFeed News just published its largest investigation ever.
Previously undisclosed government documents reveal for the first time how some of the world's biggest banks moved trillions of dollars in suspicious transactions, aiding criminals while enriching themselves. And the government failed to stop it.
To understand how we got here, first you need to know about suspicious activity reports. SARs are documents that banks file to the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, when they spot transactions that look like they could be related to money laundering or other financial misconduct. Before now, very few SARs have ever come into public view. Today, we're reporting on more than 2,100.
Our investigation found that these suspicious transactions send money flowing around the world and into countless industries, from sports to Hollywood entertainment to companies that make items people use in their everyday lives.
These SARs are not, on their own, evidence of any crime. But some of the money that these banks are helping to move around the world, our reporting shows, enables deadly drug wars, terrorist groups, organized crime, Ponzi schemes, and the impoverishment of developing countries.
Here's how a former bank investigator put it: "these people in those crisp white shirts in their sharp suits are feeding off the tragedy of people dying all over the world."
The US has laws that are supposed to stop money laundering at the door, but those laws contain loopholes that allow it to flourish. Banks can file SAR after SAR after SAR to meet their legal obligation — but then carry on processing the suspicious transactions, doing business with the dubious clients, and collecting the fees.
Most of those SARs, our sources told us, are never even read, let alone investigated. When the government does decide to go after a bank, it often uses deals called deferred prosecution agreements that might include fines, but no high-level arrests.
But our investigation shows how toothless the penalties can be. Even after they were prosecuted or fined for financial misconduct, banks such as JPMorgan Chase, HSBC, Standard Chartered, and Deutsche Bank continued to move money for suspected criminals.
Over the next few days, we'll publish a series of hard-hitting stories that explore the actions of big, powerful banks and the impact on ordinary people. And as always, at BuzzFeed News, we'll show our work.
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