In a ruling with major implications for companies with corporate monitors, a judge has ordered HSBC Bank to make public a monitor’s report on its efforts to comply with anti-money laundering laws. While some have praised the ruling, there’s also concern among experts that companies could be forced to reveal too much.
In a Jan. 28 decision, U.S. District Judge John Gleeson in Brooklyn ordered the unsealing of a 1,000-page progress report by a compliance monitor assigned to the bank as part of a deferred prosecution agreement it reached with the U.S. Department of Justice. A nonattorney HSBC customer had requested the unsealing. Over objections from HSBC and the DOJ, Gleeson held that he must “uphold the public’s right of access to judicial documents.” (The report is still sealed while the parties propose redactions.)
