HSBC alleged to be under investigation by HMRC

9th Nov 2012 12:21

HSBC bank is investigating a leak of confidential information regarding clients´ accounts in Jersey and allegations that criminals are utilizing accounts with the lender in Jersey to channel their funds. According to an article in The Telegraph, the tax authorities have obtained details of every British client of HSBC in Jersey after a whistleblower secretly provided a detailed list of names, addresses and account balances earlier this week. Among those apparently identified on the list, The Telegraph named Daniel Bayes, a drug dealer who is now in Venezuela; Michael Lee, who was convicted of possessing more than 300 weapons at his house in Devon; three bankers facing major fraud allegations and a man once dubbed London's "number two computer crook". The above comes after just this week the London-based lender warned that the cost of a settlement in the US over allegations of money-laundering may "significantly" exceed the $1.5bn the bank has so far set aside.In response to the above newspaper article HSBC has issued a statement indicating that: "We are investigating the reports of an alleged loss of certain client data in Jersey as a matter of urgency."We have not been notified of any investigation in relation to this matter by HMRC or any other authority but, should we receive notification, we will cooperate fully with the authorities. "HSBC remains fully committed to adoption of the highest global standards including the procedures for the acceptance of clients."For its part, the statement sent to Digital Look by HMRC says that: "We can confirm we have received the data and we are studying it. We receive information from a very wide range of sources which we use to ensure the tax rules are being respected. Where we uncover evidence of tax evasion we will crack down on it."Clamping down on those who try to cheat the system through evading taxes and over claiming benefitsis a top priority for us and we value the information we receive from the public and business community."As of 16:22 shares of HSBC are off by 0.08% to the 602.4p. CM