An alarming report in The Guardian reveals how Wachovia, America's fourth biggest bank now owned by Wells Fargo, was laundering billions of dollars of cash for cocaine smugglers from Mexico and other parts of the world.
And as Ed Vulliamy at The Guardian suggests, this could be the tip of the iceberg. In fact, three years ago during the financial crisis when banks around the world were being squeezed, dirty money was the only liquidity coming in. It was the only source of money they could raise.
He writes: "At the height of the 2008 banking crisis, Antonio Maria Costa, then head of the United Nations office on drugs and crime, said he had evidence to suggest the proceeds from drugs and crime were 'the only liquid investment capital' available to banks on the brink of collapse. 'Inter-bank loans were funded by money that originated from the drugs trade," he said. "There were signs that some banks were rescued that way.'
The bank was fined just $50 million, it was acquired by Wells Fargo, Mexican lives were lost and the drugs hit the street.
For banks, it's just business as usual.
no comment untill now