By Inti Landauro in Paris and John Letzing in Zurich
French prosecutors on Friday said they are investigating the
Swiss unit of HSBC Holdings PLC for allegedly laundering the
proceeds of tax fraud, marking the latest international probe into
the aiding of offshore-tax evasion by Swiss banks.
Magistrates are also looking into whether the bank sought to
recruit customers in France, possibly breaching laws authorizing
only French-registered lenders to sign up customers in the country,
an official at the office of the French national financial
prosecutor said.
In a statement, HSBC's Swiss bank said French magistrates are
examining whether it "acted appropriately" in the years 2006 and
2007 in relation to French taxpayers, "as well as in relation to
the way the bank offered its services in the country."
The bank said it has been asked to deposit a bond of EUR50
million ($62 million) in relation to the probe, and said it will
cooperate "to the fullest extent possible."
A spokeswoman for the bank declined to comment further.
The disclosure Friday followed formal charges filed earlier in
the week by a Belgian judge, alleging that HSBC's Swiss bank helped
Belgians evade taxes by harboring funds in secret accounts. The
misconduct alleged in Belgium occurred between 2003 and the
present, according to the Brussels prosecutor's office. The bank
said at that time the Belgian charges were disclosed that they were
linked to a probe by French authorities.
In addition, HSBC's Swiss unit is one of about a dozen Swiss
banks that remain under criminal investigation by the U.S. Justice
Department for allegedly aiding American tax evasion with secret
Swiss accounts.
Zurich-based Credit Suisse Group AG settled its own, related
probe earlier this year by agreeing to pay $2.6 billion.
Write to Inti Landauro at inti.landauro@wsj.com and John Letzing
at john.letzing@wsj.com
Access Investor Kit for HSBC Holdings Plc
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=GB0005405286
Access Investor Kit for HSBC Holdings Plc
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US4042804066
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires