HSBC Says Swiss Private Banking Unit Charged in French Tax Probe
Nov. 21 (Bloomberg) — HSBC Holdings Plc’s Swiss private- banking unit was charged by French magistrates and ordered to post a 50 million-euro ($62 million) bail bond amid a tax evasion probe.
The bank has been charged with money laundering through tax fraud and illegally marketing its services in France. The probe covers the period from 2006 to 2007.
“We will continue to cooperate with the French authorities to the fullest extent possible,” London-based HSBC said in a statement today. Officials at the French prosecutor didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment.
French President Francois Hollande has increased efforts to punish tax evasion since his former budget minister, Jerome Cahuzac, was forced to resign after his secret Swiss account was exposed. The government has targeted wealthy individuals who stashed assets over the border in Geneva and Luxembourg and advised the banks they used to encourage clients to declare their untaxed assets.
Switzerland’s UBS AG was earlier this year forced to pay a 1.1 billion-euro security deposit to cover potential penalties in a separate French tax-evasion probe. The bank is contesting the case and appealing the bill.
France scrutinized HSBC’s Swiss private bank after Herve Falciani, a former information technology worker at the firm, stole client account details from HSBC’s Geneva office in 2008 and passed them to the government. The French probe relates to the data theft, HSBC Chief Executive Officer Stuart Gulliver told reporters on Nov. 3.
Belgian prosecutors last month also charged HSBC’s Swiss unit, accusing it of illegally helping wealthy clients in the country dodge hundreds of millions of euros in taxes. HSBC has said previously it’s cooperating with the probe.
To contact the reporter on this story: Giles Broom in Geneva at gbroom@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Edward Evans at eevans3@bloomberg.net Cindy Roberts
