'UK taxman probes HSBC Jersey accts'

A A

Agencies: London, Nov 09 2012, 12:33 IST

already under investigation in the United States for breaching anti-money laundering controls. It said earlier this week that probe could result in a fine well over $1.5 billion and lead to criminal charges as well.

Tax authorities around the world are stepping up their efforts to uncover the identities of those who avoid taxes by hiding their wealth in offshore accounts.

Last week a Greek magazine published the names of more than 2,000 of HSBC's Swiss account holders.

The Greek names came from the so-called Lagarde List, named after IMF head Christian Lagarde, who first distributed the list to Greece and other EU states in 2010 when she was French finance minister.

German tax authorities have also secured convictions against over 100 tax evaders after buying stolen data in 2010 on German clients of Credit Suisse in Switzerland.

Switzerland, long famed for its strict banking secrecy laws, has been forced to bow to international pressure and strike deals with several countries allowing them to make more wide-ranging requests for information on suspected tax dodgers.

Ads by Google

Single Page Format