In 2012 he retired from HSBC, coinciding with a settlement with the US authorities in which HSBC Mexico, of which Sandy Flockhart had been CEO, admitted to aiding the laundering of nearly US$1 billion of drug traffickers funds.
ɪn tˈuː θˈaʊzənd twˈɛlv hiː ɹᵻtˈaɪɚd fɹʌm ˌeɪtʃˌɛsbˌiːsˈiː, kˌoʊɪnsˈaɪdɪŋ wɪð ɐ sˈɛɾəlmənt wɪððə jˌuːˈɛs ɐθˈɔːɹɪɾiz ɪnwˌɪtʃ ˌeɪtʃˌɛsbˌiːsˈiː mˈɛksɪkˌoʊ, ʌvwˈɪtʃ sˈændi flˈɑːkhɑːɹt hɐdbɪn sˌiːˌiːˈoʊ, ɐdmˈɪɾᵻd tʊ ˈeɪdɪŋ ðə lˈɔːndɚɹɪŋ ʌv nˌɪɹli jˌuːˈɛs dˈɑːlɚ wˈʌn bˈɪliən ʌv dɹˈʌɡ tɹˈæfɪkɚz fˈʌndz.