Compliance
French Prosecutors Probe HSBC Accounts For Money Laundering After Data Theft
French prosecutors have launched an investigation into possible money laundering by HSBC private banking clients after buying data stolen by a former employee of the bank.
French prosecutors have launched an investigation into possible money laundering by HSBC private banking clients after buying data stolen by a former employee of the bank, media reports said.
Eric de Montgolfier, the prosecutor from Nice, reportedly revealed that his team is examining thousands of accounts for evidence of money laundering, having already passed on the details to tax authorities to establish whether the wealthy individuals had avoided paying tax.
The French have the details of clients of HSBC's Swiss private bank after purchasing a stolen disk from Herve Falciani, a former HSBC computer specialist. Falciani is living in France and risks arrest if he leaves the country.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Italian authorities will be able to consult the list with personal data of individuals suspected of tax evasion, stolen from HSBC Private Bank (Suisse).
The use of the stolen data shows how debt-laden governments, in their thirst for revenues, have been prepared to brush aside due process of law in securing confidential client information. However, lawyers have told WealthBriefing that there have been precedents under English law for governments to use data that has been stolen, even though evidence obtained by theft is typically deemed to be inadmissable in criminal investigations. In the early noughties, the governments of the UK and Germany used information stolen from LGT, the Liechtenstein private bank.
Reports said de Montgolfier said he was investigating 8,231 French customers of HSBC who had accounts in Switzerland and accounts held by around 7,000 Italians. In total, he claimed the disk contained 127,000 HSBC accounts held by 79,000 people from various countries.
A spokesman for HSBC was quoted as saying that the numbers were "massively overstated".
In March, HSBC said the data theft affected up to 24,000 Swiss client accounts – only 15,000 of which are in use.
