International banking giant HSBC reached a settlement deal with the Justice Department and agreed to pay a fine of $1.9B. HSBC "admitted to laundering billions of dollars for Colombian and Mexican drug cartels (among others) and violating a host of important banking laws (from the Bank Secrecy Act to the Trading With the Enemy Act" according to journalist Matt Taibbi. (http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/outrageous-hsbc-sett...)
The reason given for reaching what is actually a minor penalty is fear that any more aggressive penalties would threaten the global economic system.
The White House and Congress must investigate this settlement and determine if charges can be brought again any and all bank executives involved.