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| HSBC's private bank in Geneva. (photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images) |
09 February 15
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US government will come under intense pressure this week to explain
what action it took after receiving a massive cache of leaked data that
revealed how the Swiss banking arm of HSBC, the world’s second-largest
bank, helped wealthy customers conceal billions of dollars of assets.
The leaked files, which reveal how HSBC advised some clients
on how to circumvent domestic tax authorities, were obtained through an
international collaboration of news outlets, including the Guardian,
the French daily Le Monde, CBS 60 Minutes and the Washington-based
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
The files reveal how HSBC’s Swiss private bank
colluded with some clients to conceal undeclared “black” accounts from
domestic tax authorities across the world and provided services to
international criminals and other high-risk individuals.
The disclosure amounts to one of the biggest banking
leaks in history shedding light on some 30,000 accounts holding almost
$120bn (£78bn) of assets. Of those, around 2,900 clients were connected
to the US, providing the IRS with a trail of evidence of potential
American taxpayers who may have been hiding assets in Geneva.
A trail of evidence READ MORE
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