 In 2016, the bank was mentioned numerous times in connection with the Panama Papers investigation.Many Syrians were angered when their accounts were judged high-risk and closed, despite the bank reportedly telling Mossack Fonseca it was "comfortable" with Rami Makhlouf as a customer, even though US Treasury sanctions against him were in effect at the time.In May 2016, HSBC announced that it would shut 24 of its 50 branches in India over the following several months, reducing its presence in the country to fourteen cities.