Originally Posted by
moondog
HSBC is a multi-national company, so they could be brought to justice in a number of different places, though I agree their China bosses might be able to shield themselves against criminal charges (you don't rise to the boss level in China without solid connections).
Not really, I'm not a lawyer but I believe two concepts of law will apply - privity of contract and forum of convenience.
First is privity of contract - just because you're dealing with "HSBC" doesn't necessarily mean you get to pick which of them to sue. Quite obviously, the only HSBC entity licenced to bank in China is HSBC Bank (China), so you can't go sue HSBC Holdings plc, HSBC USA NA or The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp in HK in lieu.
Next is forum of convenience. The bank is legally and physically located in China (above). The slip was signed in China. You were even physically located in China when you signed the slip. Good luck getting a non-Chinese court to hear it.