Yahoo – AFP,
Nina Larson, 18 Feb 2015
 |
A private
security guard at the entrance of the HSBC Private Bank branch
in Geneva,
Switzerland, on February 18, 2015 (AFP Photo/Fabrice Coffrini)
|
Swiss
authorities on Wednesday raided the offices of British banking giant HSBC's
Swiss unit as part of a money laundering probe into the bank that has been
accused of helping clients to dodge millions of dollars in taxes.
The
investigation comes just days after HSBC Switzerland found itself at the centre
of a global scandal following the publication of secret documents claiming it
assisted many of its wealthy clientele in thwarting the taxman.
"A
search is currently under way in the bank's offices," Geneva's top
prosecutors said in a statement.
 |
The HSBC
Private Bank branch in Geneva,
Switzerland, pictured on February 18, 2015
(AFP
Photo/Fabrice Coffrini)
|
The cache
of files, made public in the so-called SwissLeaks case, claimed HSBC's Swiss
private banking arm helped clients in more than 200 countries evade taxes on
accounts containing $119 billion (104 billion euros).
The files
provided details on over 100,000 HSBC clients, including people targeted by US
sanctions, suspected arms dealers and drug traffickers.
A wide
range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders were also named in the
files, although their inclusion does not necessarily imply wrongdoing.
The
documents, which were originally stolen by former HSBC IT worker Herve Falciani
in 2007, alleged that billions of dollars transited through the bank as
customers from around the world tried to dodge taxes in their home countries or
laundered dodgy procedes through offshore shell corporations.
Risks five years prison
Following
the raid, HSBC Switzerland said: "We have cooperated continuously with the
Swiss authorities since first becoming aware of the data theft in 2008 and we
continue to cooperate."
According
to Swiss law, a bank can be held responsible for "aggravated money
laundering" if it does not take all the necessary measures to ensure such
infractions do not take place within its institution.
The
prosecutor general Olivier Jornot in the Geneva canton and another top
prosecutor, Yves Bertossa, were heading the HSBC investigations.
They said
the probe initially only targeted the bank itself, but warned that
"depending on the evolution, the investigation might be broadened to
include physical persons suspected of committing or participating in acts of
money laundering".
Anyone
found guilty of such crimes could face up to five years behind bars as well as
large fines.
Following
the SwissLeaks revelations more than a week ago, HSBC's Swiss banking arm
insisted it has undergone a "radical transformation" since the period
referred to in the files.
HSBC now
has "strong compliance controls in place", Franco Morra, the head of
HSBC's Swiss unit, told AFP in an email, adding that the revelations are
"a reminder that the old business model of Swiss private banking is no
longer acceptable".
 |
French
former employee of HSBC Private
Bank Herve Falciani looks on during his
hearing at the National Assembly in
Paris on July 2, 2013 (AFP Photo/
Kenzo
Tribouillard)
|
As soon as
the documents were made public on February 9, calls arose for a Swiss probe
against HSBC Switzerland, which is already facing prosecution in the United
States, France, Argentina, Spain and Belgium.
Switzerland
had so far only launched an investigation against Falciani.
Falciani
himself said last week that the media reports on the documents' contents were
based on just a fraction of the files he handed over to French authorities.
"This
is only the tip of the iceberg," the 43-year-old Franco-Italian told
France's Le Parisien newspaper.
Falciani
remains wanted on data theft charges, but France and Spain have offered him
protection by refusing to extradite him to Switzerland.
The
SwissLeaks files have already been used by the French government to track down
tax evaders and shared with other states in 2010, leading to a series of
prosecutions.
In London,
chief political commentator Peter Oborne announced his resignation from the
Daily Telegraph as he accused the broadsheet of suppressing negative stories
about HSBC to keep the valuable advertiser happy.
The
Telegraph denied the accusations.
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