Tax
India Forms 12 Teams To Probe HSBC Swiss Accounts
The Indian government has reportedly appointed 12 teams to track undisclosed offshore accounts allegedly held by as nearly 700 wealthy Indian individuals in HSBC Private Bank’s Swiss arm.
The Indian government has appointed
12 teams to track undisclosed offshore accounts allegedly held by
as nearly 700 wealthy Indian individuals in HSBC Private Bank’s
Swiss arm, according to
local media.
The government earlier this year obtained a list of names of
account holders including prominent
corporate and political leaders, film stars and diamonds traders,
which is now
being investigated in a bid to flush out tax evaders, according
to a report in The Economic Times.
The information reportedly contains
account numbers, names and addresses as given in the passports of
the holders.
“The accounts relate to an old case which occurred
between 2006 and 2007 when our Swiss bank was a victim of
criminal data theft
by a former employee. Only Swiss-based accounts were affected,”
said a spokesperson for HSBC Private Bank. Apart from this,
HSBC Private Bank declined to comment
on customer or government inquiries.
A source close to the situation said that the
bank had not been approached by the Indian government to freeze
accounts.
The Indian government was handed the details of the accounts by
the
French government last year, which received the information from
a former
employee of HSBC,
Herve Falciani. Falciani is alleged to have stolen details on
an estimated
80,000 account holders of various nationalities while working
within the bank’s
IT department and subsequently fled to France to escape the
attentions of Swiss
investigators. Around 6,600 names are believed to be UK-based,
7,000 from Italy
while 1,500 are believed to be Spanish residents.
Other governments including Italy, Germany, the UK,
Switzerland
and France have launched similar probes to India’s, showing how
determined many
western states are to chase after alleged tax evaders and
replenish their
indebted coffers.
The Indian government last month signed a double taxation treaty
with Switzerland
but the agreement applies with prospective effect, from April 1,
2012.
