A federal judge in July approved a $1.256 billion deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with HSBC Bank USA and its parent HSBC Holdings that critics have railed against—but not without asserting his authority over it. Although Eastern District of New York Judge John Gleeson approved the DPA for violations of federal anti-money laundering and economic sanctions, he ordered the government to file quarterly reports with the court on HSBC’s compliance with the agreement.
Significantly, Gleeson also took a hard line against the contention of both the government and HSBC that he lacked any inherent authority over the approval or implementation of the DPA.
