BEIJING, Dec. 12 (Xinhuanet) – British bank HSBC has agreed to pay a record fine of 1.9 billion U.S. dollars to settle a U.S. money laundering probe.

Loretta Lynch, U.S. attorney for E. District of New York, said, "As part of its resolution of these charges, HSBC has agreed to forfeit 1.256 billion dollars - the largest forfeiture amount ever by a financial institution for a compliance failure. They have also agreed to pay civil penalties of 665 million dollars to resolve the parallel regulatory actions brought by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve Bank for a total recovery of over 1.9 billion dollars."

U.S. authorities say the bank laundered some 880 million US dollars in drug trafficking proceeds from Mexico, violating the Bank Secrecy Act. The government also alleges HSBC violated two US federal laws by illegally conducting transactions on behalf of customers in Cuba, Iran, Libya, Sudan and Burma.

HSBC conceded that its anti-money laundering measures were inadequate and says it has taken big steps to tighten its controls.

The settlement avoids a legal battle that could further damage the bank’s reputation and undermine confidence in the global banking system.

It’s the latest scandal to hit banks since the financial crisis started in 2008. Standard Chartered, another British bank, signed an agreement with regulators on Monday to settle a money-laundering investigation involving Iran.

(Source: CNTV)