HSBC's Swiss bank under investigation

Swiss prosecutors searched the premises of HSBC's Geneva offices on Wednesday, launching a money-laundering probe following reports the bank helped clients evade millions of dollars in taxes.

"Following the recent revelations related to the HSBC Private Bank (Switzerland), the public prosecutor announces the opening of a criminal procedure against the bank… for aggravated money laundering," Geneva prosecutors said in a statement.

The investigation could later be extended to individual people suspected of committing or participating in money laundering, including alleged drug and arms traffickers, politicians and celebrities, they added.

ICIJ investigation

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and other media outlets published a report last week that alledged HSBC had helped people in more than 200 countries hide millions of dollars from tax authorities.

The revelations were based on a series of leaked documents, the so-called Swiss Leaks, which provided data up until 2007 and gave details on more than 100,000 clients with accounts worth $100 billion (88 billion euros).

In 2008, former HSBC employee Hervé Falciani gave the data to French tax authorities, who launched a subsequent investigation in November 2014 that ended last Monday.

Not just a Swiss problem

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), a British financial watchdog, released a statement this week saying it was verifying the "failings" the bank admitted were in the past. Belgium also recently announced it may soon issue arrest warrants for HSBC managers.

HSBC's Chief Franco Morra said last week that the bank had closed the accounts of clients who "did not meet our high standards."

He added the revelations about Switzerland's "historical business practices" were a reminder the old business of Swiss private banking was no longer acceptable.

el/cjc (AP, Reuters, dpa, AFP)