Headquartered in Geneva, HSBC Private Bank has been charged with serious and organized tax fraud, money laundering and offering illegal financial services since 2003, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The Belgian prosecutor’s office said in a written statement: "The Swiss bank is suspected of having knowingly eased and promoted fiscal fraud by making offshore companies available to certain privileged clients.
"The damage done to the Belgian state by the aforementioned deeds is estimated at several hundred million euros, to which should be added larger sums that could have been laundered and may be seized by the Belgian authorities."
Belgian investigating judge Michel Claise alleged that the bank helped Belgians in moving their savings from Swiss accounts to holding companies, which are mainly based in Panama and the British Virgin Islands.
The aim was to avoid tax payments that would have resulted from an agreement between Switzerland and the European Union (EU) to help EU governments collect taxes on revenue generated by accounts held abroad by EU citizens, Claise added.
According to Belgian authorities, the case could cover accounts held by more than 1,000 Belgians, including diamond dealers in Antwerp.
In addition, the authorities published emails and other correspondence between HSBC and Belgian clients that apparently show the bank offering tax evasion services, BBC News reported.
Meanwhile, HSBC said: "HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) SA has been notified that it has been placed under formal investigation by a Belgian judge who, along with the French authorities, is examining whether the bank acted appropriately in the past in relation to certain clients who had Belgian tax reporting requirements.
"Both the Belgian and French investigations have been notified in our filings previously and we will continue to cooperate to the fullest extent possible."
Image: HSBC Private Bank’s office on St James’s Street, London, UK. Photo: Diliff.
