- HMRC says probe not related to business activities of the banks
- Sunday Telegraph says RBS bankers arrested as part of probe
- RBS says co-operating fully with HMRC
LONDON, Feb
12 (Reuters) - Several British bankers have been arrested as part of an
investigation into alleged tax-related criminal offences, the country's customs
and revenue service said on Sunday, including some from Royal Bank of Scotland.
"As a
result of an ongoing HMRC investigation into tax-related criminal offences,
HMRC has arrested a number of people, some of whom work for UK banks," Her
Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) department said in a statement.
"This
investigation relates to the actions of the people arrested in relation to
their own financial affairs and is not connected to the business activities of
the banks," it added.
The arrests
come as Britain's top banks are under attack from politicians over paying large
salaries and bonuses while the rest of the country suffers in the UK's
faltering economy, and for not lending enough to businesses.
The
department did not identify the bankers nor the companies they worked for. The
Sunday Telegraph newspaper said four current and one former member of Royal
Bank of Scotland had been arrested as part of the probe.
An RBS
spokeswoman told Reuters: "We cannot comment on an ongoing investigation
but are fully co-operating with HMRC."
Last month,
the chief executive and chairman of RBS, which is 83 percent owned by the
British government after a state bailout during the 2008 credit crisis, gave up
their million pound bonus packages following public anger.
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