US charges accomplice of Democratic fund-raiser

Source: Reuters

NEW YORK, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Many of the fake documents used by a leading Democratic Party fund-raiser to defraud HSBC (HSBA.L) and Citigroup Inc (C.N) were made by his brother-in-law, U.S. prosecutors said on Friday.

Authorities arrested and charged Shahin Kashanchi, brother-in-law of indicted fund-raiser Hassan Nemazee, who donated to the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and other leading Democrats over the years.

Nemazee pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in Manhattan federal court to defrauding a total of three banks -- Bank of America (BAC.N) was the other -- out of $292 million in loan proceeds.

"Based on e-mail traffic between Kashanchi and Nemazee, Kashanchi was regularly producing what Kashanchi referred to as the 'normal quarterly statements' for one of the non-existent collateral accounts, among other things," the office of the U.S. Attorney in New York and the FBI said in a statement.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2551167420090925