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"In an age of international terrorism, drug violence in our streets and on our borders, and organized crime, stopping illicit money flows that support those atrocities is a national security imperative," Levin said Monday. The bank said in its statement that it changed its senior management last year and has made changes to strengthen its compliance with rules to prevent money laundering. "We ... recognize that our controls could and should have been stronger and more effective in order to spot and deal with unacceptable behavior," the statement said. Levin also blasted the federal agency supervising the bank's U.S. operations, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. He said the agency "tolerated" HSBC's weak controls against money laundering for years. Thomas Curry, who heads the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, also will testify at Tuesday's hearing. Compliance with anti-money laundering laws "is crucial to our nation's efforts to combat criminal activity and terrorism," Curry said in a statement. He said the agency expects banks to have adequate programs in place to comply with the laws. The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the HSBC and the Justice Department have been in settlement talks and an accord could be struck within weeks. Justice Department spokeswoman Alisa Finelli acknowledged that an investigation is under way but declined to comment on possible settlement discussions or a deal.
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