(BUENOS AIRES, Argentina) — Argentina’s government on Monday accused the British banking giant HSBC of facilitating money laundering and tax evasion. Tax chief Ricardo Echegaray said HSBC’s Argentina subsidiary created an illegal scheme enabling its clients to hide more than $100 million. He said the scheme included a criminal organization and fake receipts used to launder money for various companies. HSBC’s Latin America spokeswoman, Lyssette Bravo, issued a statement that did not deny Read more [...]

The two met for 15 minutes of private conversation before having lunch together, the Vatican said. It did not issue a statement, but in a news conference later in Rome, Mrs. Kirchner said she had found the pope, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, “calm, confident and at peace, tranquil.” “I could also say that he is occupied and concerned about the immense task not only to govern Vatican City State, but to change things that he knows need to change,” she Read more [...]

VATICAN CITY: Argentine President Cristina Kirchner on Monday asked compatriot Pope Francis to mediate in the Falkland Islands' dispute with Britain at the new pontiff's first talks with a head of state, as world leaders flew in for his inauguration mass. "I asked his intervention to promote dialogue between the two sides," Kirchner told reporters after meeting Latin America's first pope in the Vatican, warning against a growing "militarisation" in the South Atlantic. Kirchner noted that Read more [...]