HSBC tax evasion suspects in India told to get a lawyer

Customers of HSBC in India, suspected of tax evasion, have been given 30 days to get a lawyer in Switzerland, to manage or challenge the disclosure of their names in the official gazette.

The UK-based banking group, at the heart of a series of tax-related revelations over the past few weeks, has in the past two weeks forwarded a letter from the Swiss government to a select number of Indian customers, which warns that Switzerland is now prepared to give “administrative assistance” to Indian tax investigators.

According to a report in The Guardian, this could take the form of disclosing the identities of owners of HSBC Suisse accounts, the assets they contain, and details of individual transactions.

Tax evaders who refuse to cooperate will be publicly named.

India has been trying for five years to bring to book, those who hid fortunes in black money accounts opened with HSBC’s now notorious alpine bank.

Customers have one month to nominate a third-party based in Switzerland, such as a lawyer, to manage or challenge the disclosure process on their behalf, according to a spokesperson for Switzerland's State Secretariat for International Finance.

He said: “Our law does not allow the Swiss government to send tax inquiries to citizens of other countries. That is why they need to nominate a third-party in Switzerland.” Customers have 30 days to provide a local address in Switzerland, otherwise the Swiss government will publish their name in the official gazette. It is a normal procedure in administrative assistance.

“Only a very small number of HSBC clients are concerned. These are limited cases where the Indian authorities had additional information,” he added

In February, around 1,200 Indian clients were found to have held HSBC accounts in Geneva, with the names of leading political and business families published by The Indian Express as part of a global exposé by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

France obtained the leaked data from the HSBC whistle-blower Herve Falciani in 2008 and distributed it to tax authorities around the world.

However, the Swiss have refused to disclose details of accounts based on the stolen data.

Governments asking for assistance have been told to provide new proof obtained legally by their own investigators.

As a result, Switzerland will disclose information on just a handful of the HSBC clients.

The exact number of those caught in the administrative assistance process has not been disclosed.