A New Jersey man, reportedly a client of HSBC, pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to hide accounts in India and elsewhere, according to media services.

A New Jersey man, reportedly a client of HSBC, pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to hide accounts in India and elsewhere, according to media services.

The case includes as co-conspirators five unnamed bankers whom sources identified as employees of HSBC, reports said. The government in its indictment said the bankers worked at a large international bank headquartered in the UK. HSBC is headquartered in London with a dual listing in London and Hong Kong.

"We don't condone tax evasion and we're cooperating with the authorities in their enquiries," a spokesperson for the bank told WealthBriefing. They also emphasised that HBSC Private Bank is not  a legal party to the case.

Vaibhav Dahake admitted to conspiring to conceal accounts in India in the US district court in New Jersey. The matter comes shortly after US legal authorities said a unit at HSBC may have helped thousands of US citizens to evade taxes. The case highlights how US legal and tax authorities are continuing to step up pressure on alleged tax evaders, having been embroiled in a long-running fight with UBS, the Swiss bank, two years ago.

Government lawyers cited Dahake in their request last week for permission to get information from the bank about American residents who may be using HSBC India accounts to evade federal taxes, Reuters reported.

The government is requesting authority to serve a "John Doe" summons on the bank to obtain the names of people who may have engaged in tax fraud.

HSBC has been soliciting clients of Indian origin living outside India since at least 2002, through a unit called NRI Services Division, the court documents filed by the government last week said.

Thorn Law Group, a US law firm representing taxpayers in the US and around the world, said the possibility of a John Doe summons should encourage more taxpayers with undisclosed offshore accounts held at HSBC to come forward.

“With the current IRS Amnesty Programme only open until August 31, 2011, there is still enough time for taxpayers to enter the IRS Voluntary Disclosure Programme and submit all necessary documents in order to be given amnesty from criminal prosecution,” said Kevin Thorn, managing partner at the firm.