The Spanish government is contemplating legal action against HSBC bank after it was learned that its private bank in Switzerland helped clients avoid tax authorities.
The files show that 2,694 Spaniards had accounts in HSBC’s Swiss subsidiary, worth a total of more than €2 billion.
On Tuesday Finance Minister Cristóbal Montoro has asked for a “study of the legal actions that can be taken against HSBC for its participation in carrying out fiscal fraud, laundering and other wrongful acts committed by Spanish residents”.
This appears to be a turnaround from Montoro’s initial reaction on Monday when he said the matter was “old news” and that the names of the Spaniards involved had been given to the tax authorities in 2010. “We’ve already taken action to address them”, he said.
At that time, more than 650 Spanish residents on the list were contacted by the tax authorities. Where tax evasion was suspected, people had the chance to avoid inspection by settling their debts.
Spain’s Botín family, whose members head Santander bank, paid €200m in back taxes to the Spanish government.
No action was taken then against HSBC.
