It seems to me that there should be a difference between the way we treat Banks and the way we treat Bank Executives (HSBC to Pay $1.92 Billion to Settle Charges of Money Laundering. New York Times, December 10, 2012).
It may be that there were good reasons to not charge the Bank for criminal activity because it might cause the Bank to fail -- withdrawals by depositors, sell-off by shareholders. I can not see a similar argument for not bringing criminal charges against the top executives of the company.
They were in charge. They were receiving top dollar for the oversight of the banks myriad activities. It is no defense that they were ignorant of what was going on. They should have known. The Buck Stops at the Top.
We cannot be indifferent to the drug related murders in Mexico and even on our own streets. Their money laundering facilitated the operation of the drug cartels. They should be charged.
Sent to New York Times